A River of ADAM
by BioshockFangirl15
Summary: This story is about Dylan Harris...a boy born in Rapture who lives out his days as Big Brother, protector and savior...and when he meets Lilith, a mysterious girl from the surface, his life and the lives around him begin to slowly change...
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

The Big Sister rushed at a rapid speed through the glass-walled tunnel with a newborn infant in her arms, the cries and fidgeting of the infant being ignored by the leather-armored Sister. The Big Sister slowed to a walk as she approached the slide-up door that led to the Little Sisters Orphanage in Siren Alley. She looked down at the infant and held one of her un-weaponed hands above him, wiggling her gloved fingers slightly to try and entertain the child out of his fit. The infant giggled softly as she did and he grabbed her gloved hand gently, the rough material feeling gentle to his small hands.

The Big Sister slowly entered the Orphanage through the slide doors and walked past the front desk, the wood of the desk close to decay and the paint on the walls beginning to chip away. The darkness of the building was soothing to the infant and the crimson light shining through the portholes in the Big Sister's circular steel helmet guided her into the second room. She made a slow left and entered a room lighted by a single oil lamp seated at the very end of the room on a large suit case. Abandoned bunk beds stood on either side of the room against the walls and with pillows and slightly torn sheets.

There were three other Big Sisters in the room, standing at the opposite end of the room by the bunk bed on the right side, the oil lamp giving their metallic helmet a faint shine. Childish doodles left by the Little Sisters it housed depicted images of little girls hand-in-hand with their Big Daddies and some showing little girls piggy-backing on a Big Sister. The Big Sisters are thin, womanly-figured matured Little Sisters around their teenage years in thick material diving suits with steel shoulder pads, one larger than the other, and steel boots. The leather armor around their torsos, thighs, knees, and shins, along with their right forearms, was held to their bodies tightly by thin leather belts, the armor a dark brown while the belts were a tannish brown.

The Big Sisters slowly approached the others and all three of them slowly moved out of the way to allow their fellow Sister to approach the bunk bed and lay the infant on the bottom bunk, the sheet wrapped around him heavily blood-stained from absorbing the blood on the infant's body, since he was fresh from the womb when the Big Sister took him from his parents. The Big Sisters slowly fathered in a group behind their fellow Sister to get a good look at the infant boy. The infant giggled and reached out to the nearest Big Sister, his bright yellow glowing eyes showing innocence and happiness. The Big Sister that was knelt beside him held her hand over him like she did earlier and he giggled softly as he took a hold of it.

"Let me see him..." a female German-accented voice said from the shadows.

The three standing Big Sisters slowly moved aside to let Rosemarie Tenenbaum through. Rosemarie Tenenbaum was the only daughter of the famous, German-born scientist named Brigid Tenenbaum. She was a fourty-year-old brunette, her hair in a fashion that was similar to how her mother's was in early photographs and went past her shoulders. Her eyes were also brown. Her face was slightly roundish and still showed some feminine innocense, her eyes showing she was more mature than she appeared to be, however, and she was 5' 8" with a slender feminine figure.

Rosemarie slowly sat on the bed beside the infant and gently pulled down the sheet abit so she could see the infant's face, the Big Sister gently pulling her hand free as she did this.

She shook her head slightly seeing the yellow glow in his eyes and the deadly color of his skin, "I knew this would happen. This infant is a Little Brother from the womb...I told her to take precautions in this city..."

The kneeling Big Sister looked at Rosemarie silently while the infant began to squirm and fidget without the presence of the Big Sister's hand.

"...We have to get him out of Rapture and somewhere safe...but, I'm afraid I cannot free him from this fate he is to endure until he matures..." Rosemarie said softly as she slowly stood up from the bed.

The Big Sister looked down at the infant and gently gathered him into her arms, instantly calming the infant out of his fuss.

"We will name him Dylan and raise him here. He will be under your care, since he is more family to you and the Little Ones than his own kind now. I have others that I must tend to before the city completly falls to the ocean ground..." Rosemarie said softly, keeping her back to the Big Sister.

The Big Sister gently ran a gloved hand along the infant's head and earned herself a soft giggle from Dylan. Rosemarie smiled slightly at the sound of the giggle and slowly walked towards the door. The other Big Sisters fathered around their fellow Sister, the infant boy giggling abit louder at their presense. Two Little Sisters rushed into the room and climbed up the Big Sisters' to get a look at Dylan.

As Dylan grew up in Rapture for the past ten years, the Big Sisters taught him how to sruvive in Rapture under their protection and the Big Daddies treated him as if he was Little Sister. Dylan matured just as the Big Sisters did during Little Sisterhood, however he was more aggressive towards Splicers that sought out to harm the Little Sisters and he treated the Big Sisters and Big Daddies like family. He bonded more closely to the Little Sisters than anyone though.

"Hop, hop!~ Our Angels will wake..." a Little Sister chimed innocently a she skipped along a tunnel connecting one portion of Farmer's Market to another.

Little Sisters are young girls aged between 8 and 9 years old with filthy knee-length dresses and hair in ponytails with faded colored bows. Their skin are a deathly grayish color and their eyes are yellow and glowing, but their normal eyes can be seen under the yellow haze if one looks closely. Their bare feet are legs are scratched from their traveling around the city.

"" is an affectionate nickname the Little Sisters give their Big Daddy Protectors. Big Daddies are genetically-enhanced human beings who have had their skin and organs grafted into an enormous diving suit. A life support system keeps the large Daddies functional.

After the surfacing of Sofia Lamb in 1968, the city was left to rot and decay even futher than it had when she had begun to take Rapture under her wing. The Big Sisters, that were the remaining of those lost, sided with Rosemarie after she re-programmed them with a plasmid, not too long after she arrived in the city that was once built in Andrew Ryan's design. With their minds under their own control, they began bonding more closely to the Little Sisters and the Big Daddies, but there was a problem they realised could be fatal to the safety of their new "family". Pieces of the city were falling apart and needed instant repair...there was only one type of Big Daddy for the job.

Rosies are Big Daddies clad in a basic heavy diving suit, the upper torso of which is covered by a high-gauge metal carapace. Their heads are covered by a high-gauge metal diving helmet welded to the torso carapace, and three large lit portholes are welded into the helmet. Their large Rivet Guns were used for keeping the maitenance of Rapture up to the date, but were also used to protect their bonded Little Sisters while they were Protectors. Their skill of repairing Rapture gave them no use as Protectors.

The Rumblers became extinct not long after Sofia Lamb's departure, for reasons that were never clarified, although rumors existed that it was cult-related. This fact left only Bouncers and Rosemarie's new Big Daddies to be used as Protectors to the Little Sisters. The Bouncers and Burkhards were the ones the Big Sisters entrusted the safety of their younger Sisters onto.

Bouncers are clad in a basic heavy diving suit, the entire torso of which is covered by a huge high-gauge metal carapace. The head protrudes directly forward from the upper chest area, and is encased in a hemispherical helmet studded with eight lit portholes. A large, fully-functional drill is attached to the right arm just forward of the elbow, and is used as a close-combat weapon when protecting Little Sisters. Bouncer Big Daddies get their name for a special attack that they use in which they drive their drill into the ground and cause violent tremors, which causes their close-proximity enemies to lose their footing.

Burkhards are a new type of Big Daddy developed in Rosemarie's own design for the Protector Program. They are clad in basic heavy diving suits, the entire torso encased in a high-gauge metal carapace. The head is guarded by a hemispherical helmet with four portholes, one large porthole in the front, a smaller one on the top of the helmet, and two medium-sized portholes in the sides.

The Burkhards carry a shoulder-mounted Grenade Launcher, held in place by multiple buckles on his right shoulder, a large, fully-functional drill on his left arm, and the ability to use Plasmids like the failed Alpha Series Big Daddies. These Big Daddies gain a portion of the ADAM their Little Sisters gather from the corpses laid all around Rapture. In short, Little Sisters award these Big Daddies with a portion of the ADAM gathered for their protection. ADAM slugs on the sea floor outside of Rapture also prove to be useful.

With the number of Bouncer Big Daddies still high ever since Jack Ryan's and Subject Delta's travels through Rapture however, there not many unattended Little Sisters for the Burkhards to imprint on, so Rosemarie had the extra Burkhards placed in a test subject storage room in Point Prometheus. This was far from the part of the city the Big Sister were raising Dylan at the time. They were all placed in large life-tubes and kept in a slumber-state until awakened to become of use. Rosemarie couldn't think of any other place to hide them.

"Come on!~ More ADAM for Big Sister! Maybe Big Brother will give us toffies and lollies!~" the Little Sister giggled as she continued skipping along, her Big Daddy Bouncer groaning whalishly as he followed.

The Bouncer's large boots made loud thudding sounds and send small tremors through the tunnel with each step.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Rosemarie sighed softly as she pulled the death stick away from her lips, white smoke passing through her lips with her sigh. She set the lit cigarette on an ashtray and ran a hand through her hair thoughtfully, then slowly turned her chair toward Martha Lawson, the Little Sister beside Rosemarie crawling into her lap once she was fully turned.

"Martha...I know the pain you must have been feeling these past ten years must be devastating, but I could not take any risks. There were Splicers all around that clinic, leftovers from the Rapture Family." Rosemarie said softly, running her fingernail tips up and down the Little Sister's arm motherly. The Little Sister responded by faintly giggling and slightly squirming.

Martha was now 32, 5' 8", and had a thin figure since good food was hard to come by in Rapture and she wasn't going to live on Potato Chips and candy bars. Her faded red hair was straight and reached past her shoulders, her faded blue eyes showing exhaustion and despair.

"I don't car, Rosemarie! You told me to go through with the pregnancy when I was desperate for advise. My husband left me for a SPLICER!" Martha replied shakily.

"I am not going to sit here and say that you shouldn't have, but I also told you to give birth to him here instead of staying in that Splicer-infested clinic in Pauper's Drop. You're still covered in bruises!" Rosemarie said softly to not startle the Little Sister in her lap.

"You didn't tell me about the s*** that happened her before we came to Rapture! I thought my husband would protect me...!" Martha said, sobbing softly into her hands after speaking.

"...Watch your language in front of the Little Ones. Now, Martha...as much as I would like to turn Dylan human...you must understand that he is part of a family now. For ten years, he has been a part of it. Martha...the Little Ones have become attached...the Big Daddies know him as a son...I need to monitor this attachment for research..." Rosemarie said softly.

"A child is NOT a science project, Rosemarie! He's my baby boy...I want my baby boy...I want my baby..." Martha sobbed as she fell to her knees.

Rosemarie sighed softly as she rubbed her eyes with her un-occupied hand, "Martha...I cannot abandon this situation for a mother's tears...we've gone too far into this, Martha. You understand, yes?"

"You have no heart..." Martha shakily replied.

The Little Sister in Rosemarie's lap slid off her lap and walked over to Martha slowly, putting a hand on Martha's shoulder. Martha looked up slowly and widened her eyes fearfully and she she screamed, slapping the child's hand away and making the Little Sister back away. The girl had her head lowered as she did so, holding the wrist of the hand Martha had slapped. She sniffled softly a few times before she began crying into her small hands.

"...I have no heart...Martha...?" Rosemarie asked the stunned woman as she slowly stood up from her chair.

The Little Sister slowly stopped her crying feeling Rosemarie place her hand on the girl's head. Rosemarie gently rubbed the girl's head for a few moments, then she looked at Martha blankly.

"Look at this child, Martha...you tell me what she did to deserve that slap..." Rosemarie asked softly, keeping her hand on the Little Sister's head.

Martha stared at Rosemarie silently for awhile, then she looked at the Little Sister. The girl still had her head lowered, but she was no longer crying and her arms were at her sides.

"How do you expect me to think you will greet him with open arms if you treat his Sisters with fear and disgust?" Rosemarie asked, crossing her arms casually.

"...Dylan is my son...that's why..." Martha replied softly.

Rosemarie shook her head slowly and put a hand on the back of the Little Sister's head, "When you treat his Sister's negatively...Dylan sees this through their eyes and he feels their pain. This will make him hate you, Martha..."

"Why him, Rosemarie? Why do you need my son?" Martha asked shakily.

Rosemarie looked down at the Little Sister, then looked at Martha, " I told you, Martha...he is part of a family now...if you want him to bond with you, I suggest you start with his Sisters..."

Martha looked at the Little Sister and shuddered at the girl's smile, her skin paling even more than it already was.

"She'll be an Angel soon..." the Little Sister said softly.

(Meanwhile...)

Dylan silently walked up to the merry-go-round of Dionysus Park with a Little Sister and they both stared up at the stilled machine in a trance. The Little Sister's Burkhard Big Daddy groaned whalishly as it slowly to a stop behind them. Dylan smiled slightly and took the girl's hand, leading her slowly over to an Angel corpse near the merry-go-round, the Burkhard following closely with his large boots stomping the Earth beneath him and causing slight tremors with his steps.

"ADAM in the oven...oven...oven..." the Little Sister sang softly as she lowered down slowly to stab her harvesting needle into the corpse.

Dylan looked up at the merry-go-round and smiled slightly seeing a Big Sister crouched on the very top for extra protection of him and the Little Sister. He frowned slightly as he suddenly felt a slight pain on his cheek and he slowly lowered his head, putting a hand on the cheek that stung as if it was slapped. The Big Sister noticed this and leaped off the merry-go-round and landed beside Dylan in a crouch, making a concerned metallic grunting sound.

Dylan looked up at her frowning, then closed his eyes as a vision began playing in his mind of the Little Sister in Rosemarie's care getting slapped by a woman Dylan doesn't know. The Big Sister played a hand on his head gently to view this and growled metallically in response to the vision.

Dylan spoke without opening his eyes, "...Kill that woman...and bring my Sister to me..."

The Big Sister nodded and stood up slowly, a lavender color light surrounding her before she vanished. Dylan opened his eyes once the Big Sister had vanished and saw that the Little Sister he was with was standing beside him, looking at him worriedly with her yellow glowing eyes.

"B-Big Brother looks mad..." the Little Sister said softly.

Dylan smiled slightly and took the Little Sister's hand into his own and began walking around the merry-go-round slowly. The Little Sister giggled softly and followed in a skip while the Burkhard slowly turned and followed them in a slow walk, groaning whalishly as he followed the two.

"Big Brother!~ Wait for !" the Little Sister complained childishly.

Dylan chuckled softly and slowed his walk while looking back at the Burkhard as he slowly caught up to them.

(Meanwhile...)

The Big Sister screeched as she appeared in the room with Rosemarie and Martha and grunted metallically and angrily at Martha. The Little Sister gasped and quickly hid behind Rosemarie while Martha quickly backed away from the Big Sister.

"B-Big Sister's angry!" the Little Sister said fearfully.

The Big Sister made a step towards Martha with a deep metallic growl, making Martha back away even further. The adolescent Sister suddenly froze in her place with her harvesting extension rose slightly as she heard Rosemarie give out a command in German.

"Anschlag!" Rosemarie commanded firmly, her arms firmly crossed over her chest.

Martha stared as the Big Sister in front of her froze suddenly, then looked at Rosemarie wide-eyed before quickly looking at the Big Sister.

"Knien sie!" Rosemarie commanded.

The Big Sister slowly lowered her extension and slowly knelt down onto the floor, bending her right arm against her chest while her left laid at her side. Martha blinked wide-eyed at this and looked at Rosemarie questionably.

"Bleiben Sie!" Rosemarie commanded as she slowly walked over to the Big Sister.

The Big Sister stayed frozen in her place, statued in her kneeling position. She made no movement as Rosemarie placed a hand on her helmet. The Little Sister climbed onto the Big Sister's shoulder.

"Y-You said...ten years has gone by...right...? Wh-Why are those things still around...?" Martha asked shakily.

"Well...as you know, the Little Sisters do grow up...as do the Elder Sisters..." Rosemarie said softly.

"S-So what about the Little Sisters...wh-what are you doing to keep the numbers up...?" Martha asked.

"While the extra Burkhards weren't needed for Protectors, I decided to use them for a different purpose..." Rosemarie said softly, putting a hand on the Little Sisters' head as she stayed roosted on the Big Sister's shoulder.

Martha widened her eyes once more and a chill ran through her spine that made her cringe.

"...Science and ADAM, Martha...go together like protons and neutrons do in an Atom. My mother was involved with Big Daddies and Little Sisters...but I took all of her research to a new level..." Rosemarie said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Once the Big Sisters started becoming older and more aggressive, I began seeing that there might be a use for the extra Burkhards I created from Brute Splicers. I had the adult Sisters all sedated in a medical room in this building here and injected semen samples from the Burkhards into their wombs while they sleep. C-sections had to be performed nine days later, the fetus' fully grown and healthy, all organs and bodily features grown. The infants survived on ADAM provided from their mother's breasts, green, natural ADAM, and grew into children in just months. However, around the age of nine or eight years of age, bodily and mentally-wise, their aging process normals out. These Little Ones are not born with the slug, so I feared for the Gathering Program...they act as normal Little Ones, though, so I am not worried..." Rosemarie said softly.

Martha blinked in disbelief to what she heard, "So, you...use grown up Big Sisters...for baby makers...and they're in comas while you're doing this to them?"

Rosemarie nodded with a slight smile, "Mmhm...however," Rosemarie's smile faded as quickly as it came, "Every time one of the sleeping mothers produces a boy, the child doesn't survive long enough to take it's first breaths. They die in the womb...that's why I plan on using your son as an experiment when he becomes old enough...it's only for research. Nothing personal."

Martha stood quickly with her hands balling up into fists, "Never! My son deserves his freedom!"

Rosemarie blinked at her, "...Martha...I told you. You mistreat his Sisters, he returns this treatment with hatred...towards you. Why do you think this Elder Sister has come? Dylan sent her..."

The Big Sister lifted her helmeted head to glance at Martha before she lowered her eyes back to the wooden floor and let out a metallic growl that sent a shiver down Martha's spine. Just the sight of the Big Sister alone, knelt with her head bowed like a knight waiting for a king's demand, was frightening. The glow the Big Sister's helmet gave off was like looking at the eye of a demon thirsty for your blood.

"Bleiben Sie..." Rosemarie commanded softly before returning her gaze to Martha.

"...My son...does NOT...deserve this from you! He trusted you, Rosemarie!" Martha snapped.

"He still does...all the more reason for him to accept his purpose to his fellow Sisters. To produce more like him..." Rosemarie replied without a tint of guilt.

"...You've changed, Rosemarie...you weren't like this before..." Martha said shakily.

"...Science...can be a cruel b****..." Rosemarie said with a faint chuckle as she turned away from Martha and walked back towards her desk, her cigarette almost completly ashed away in the ash tray.

[Awhile later]

Danny stared at the burnt piano before him on the stage of the Triton Cinema stage, a Burkhard standing in the center of the stage watching him protectively. The Big Sister he had sent earlier screeched as she appeared on the Burkhard's left shoulder with the Little Sister on her back. The Little Sister quickly climbed down her back and down the Burkhard's arm before landing on the ground gently and she rushed over to Dylan's side.

Dylan smiled over at her and reached out for her hand, gently gripping it as she laid her hand in his, "What news have you brought, my Sister...?"

The Little Sister frowned slightly and she tightened her grip on his hand, sending visions of all that she witnessed at Rosemarie's Safe-house in Point Prometheus. Dylan closed his eyes as he viewed these visions, then slowly re-opened his eyes once they ended.

"...So, my purpose is to be a sperm bank...hm?" Dylan asked with a faint growl, his grip on the Little Sister's hand turning painful by the second, but he immediately froze hearing the girl wince.

"B-Brother...y-you're hurting me..." the Little Sister pleaded, though she didn't struggle to free her hand from his.

Dylan stared forward blankly for a few moments before slowly releasing the Little Sister's hand with a dull smile, then he looked at her, "I won't take orders from a scientist like Rosemarie...and I won't let her abuse my Sisters. Starting now...this...will my main purpose to my Sisters..."

As he spoke, he gingerly took the Little Sister's hand again and stared at it for a moment before he looked up at the owner of the hand. He then slowly raised his other hand after pulling her gently to where she was abit closer to him and he gently placed his hand on er head, his hand glowing brightly as her vision slowly turned white.

[Eight years later]

"...Eight years passed...and Rapture still continued it's descend into a never-ending madness. ADAM became scarce as the Little Ones began disappearing...housed in the very Orphanage that changed their lives to try and live as normal little girls in Siren Alley. The Big Sisters no longer give protection to myself and show no loyalty other than to Dylan and their fellow Sisters. Acts of hatred...revenge...this is what I am returned after Dylan turned them against me. Now I sit here in Pauper's Drop...the butt of Rapture...watching him grow up from security camera screens. I noticed...as he grew older...the Little Ones began forging a suit for him out of the same materials the scientists used to forge the Big Sister suits. The grown Big Sisters that I had sedated long ago are now under the watchful eye of the younger, still adolescent Big Sisters and the extra Burkhards that Dylan had awakened. The Splicers of Rapture became few and few...as ADAM became less and less...

...Heh...Dylan thinks he can turn this place into a paradise...I'd like to see him try..."

[Meanwhile, Siren Alley]

Dylan slowly walked down the aisle of bunk-beds, stopping only once to avoid colliding with a rushing girl, then slowly continued on and laid a little girl, that he had been holding in his arms, down on the bottom bunk-bed of the last bunk by the oil lamp. All the others were chatting amongst themselves while in their own beds, hugging teddy bears of dolls to their chests. He gently ran a gloved hand along the little girl's head as she slept, then he gently tucked her in with the white sheet before he slowly stood up from his kneeling position and examined the girl in the top bunk. He reached over and very gently lifted her arm, then used his other hand to push her teddy bear against her chest before he lowered her arm around it and he watched her snuggle against it subconsciously.

Dylan then reached down and turned the small knob on the oil lamp to dim the light in the room and the girls responded automatically by ceasing their chatting and crawling underneath their sheets. As he walked by each pair of bunk beds, he examined each bed to be sure that each girl was well tucked in and walked over to any bed that he saw had flaws and he silently tucked the girls in properly before running his hand along their heads as his way of saying "Good night". Once he reached the doorway, he turned and nodded slightly as he saw every pair of eyes closed, then he turned back around and walked out of the doorway and around the corner to the front desk. He put his gloved hand on the wood and let out a faint sigh.

"...You're doing alot for them..." a woman's voice said gently while feminine hands caressed his metallic shoulder guards.

Dylan silently lifted his un-occupied gloved hand and put it over one of the feminine hands, then gently took it into his and pulled it near his face while he turned his hand. The thin fingered fingered felt hot and soft against his cold, chapped lips. The hand's partnet went into his hair and carefully combed out the tangles in his short black hair and Dylan closed his eyes to the feeling of the motherly fingers in his hair. It gave him a warm feeling in his chest that he openly welcomed.

"...You make me so proud, Dylan...my special boy..." the voice whispered gently.

Dylan silently turned around as he opened his eyes slowly and lowered his head against Martha's chest over where her heart is located and her arms wrapped around his shoulders while his hands held her sides son-like. He had to bend over slightly in order to do this, him being abit taller than his mother, but Martha didn't mind and neither did he. Her hand gently stroked his hair motherly while her hand rubbed the hard leather protecting his back while her heartbeat and breathing gave Dylan a sense of ease that he'd been needing for awhile. It's been taking alot out of him to protect the Little Sisters from the Splicers that haunted him and the halls of Rapture, but he did so because they depended on him...and he was not one to disappoint.

"...My boy...my sweet boy..." Martha said softly as she held onto him as if he was planning on running off out of her embrace, "it breaks my heart that you have to spend your 18th birthday down here..."

Dylan stayed silent as she spoke, blinking occasionally.

Martha gently pulled his head up from her chest and smiled slightly, "...Happy birthday, sweetie..."

Dylan smiled slightly back, "...Thanks, mom..."

"I just wish we could've gotten a cake...something to take your mind off of all of this..." Martha said softly as she slowly released his face.

Dylan was about to say something when a faint alarm sounded through Siren Alley and he frowned slightly as he tried to register what the alarm could be about. His wonders were cut-short as water began rushing in through the door crack of the Orphanage and he widened his eyes, the pumps! The Pump Station in Siren Alley was closed off years ago, for fear that someone, a Splicer, would mess with the controls and flood Siren Alley...how could the pumps have been tampered with?

"The pumps!" Dylan said as water continued rushing in through the bottom crack of the door.

Martha looked at him wide-eyed, "I thought the Pump Station was blocked!"

"Stay here!" Dylan said before rushing off and around the corner into the room with the sleeping girls still sleeping soundly in their beds.

He rushed over and turned the knob on the oil lamp to fully brighten the room, "Everyone, get up and follow me!"

The girls obediently shuffled out of their beds as quickly as they could and rushed to follow Dylan out of the room to the Little Sister vent just outside the door. He carefully helped each girl hurriedly into the vent, one-by-one, until the last girl crawled through. Martha, meanwhile, was staring down fearfully as water began rushing in more quickly through the door and she had to stand on a chair behind the front desk to keep from getting wet as water began pooling upward by the minute. Dylan rushed over after she called his name and he turned his back to her, Martha not wasting a second to jump onto his back gently while he grabbed his helmet from the front desk and he held her legs firmly around his waist before rushing out of the Orphanage as he put it on his head.

He leaped up once outside and took a hold of a walkway firmly and he pulled himself up with Martha clinging to him even tighter. Once he pulled himself up and stood, he rushed through Siren Alley along the second floor and watched the water level rise slowly as the minutes went by. At the dead end, he looked down to see that the water had reached even higher than when they had started and he set Martha gently on her feet, then took her hand gently and they looked at each other reassuringly. They then looked down at the water and jumped over the broken railing into the river that had formed.

Martha had her hand around her mouth and nose area as she held her breath until Dylan moved in front of her and offered an air mask that had a hose connected to his air tank. She took it and put the strap around her head to hold the mask in place over her mouth and nose area, then took Dylan's offered hand and she swam alongside him to the opened airlock. He led them both through the airlock, the door leading to the outside ocean already open, and he continued swimming over the sea floor. The contact Martha had with Dylan's hand protected her from the pressure of the outside ocean due to the telekinetic pulses that passed from his hand through her body painlessly and continuously.

"Where are we going?" Martha asked softly after awhile of silence.

"I'm taking you to the Adonis...it's a long stretch, but no Splicers are there..." Dylan replied as he continued swimming with his hand never letting go of his mother's hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Dylan slowly swam above the sea floor with his grip still on his mother's hand and keeping her close to him as they continued their way to the Adonis. Past the Atlantic Express Train Station was a small cliff needed to go up and over to get to the Adonis Luxury Resort air lock and the mother and son pair swam up the cliff together with their grips on each others hands growing abit tighter. Once over the cliff edge, they then swam overhead the obstacles they would need to pass if walking on the sea floor to get to the Adonis and they both lowered slowly into the airlock upon reaching their destination. Dylan pulled the switch once their feet touched the floor and water quickly drained from the airlock after the door behind them dropped closed and he pulled his helmet off his head once the water level had dropped down to his knees.

Martha pulled the airmask off her face and attatched it to Dylan's airtank, her dress clinging to her body while being heavily soaked and her hair hanging off her head while dripping heavily with salt water. She then squeezes the skirt of her long-sleeved dress, the skirt going down her knees with a button-up blouse, and water quickly rained down at her feet. While she was doing so, the door leading into the Adonis slowly rose open and Dylan stepped out to look around and make sure the Adonis was completly abandoned. All he heard was silence and he let out a silent breath of relief before he turned to his mother and saw her walking out of the airlock while pushing her hair away from her shoulders.

"Well...that was fun..." Martha said as she squeezed her hair dry.

"Sorry, mom..." Dylan said apologetically.

"I'm not complaining...it was either that or drown. I still don't know what could've gotten into the Pump Stations in the first place..." Martha said with a soft sigh.

Dylan said nothing as he gently took his mother's hand walked through the Adonis into the Grand Foyer, the large glass looking out at the open sea giving the area a calm blue lighting, and he led his mother past the bar counter and up the three steps that led to an area where people could enjoy their drinks while looking out at the ocean. Martha sat down in a chair at a small table and sighed softly as she looked out at the open ocean, a school of fish passing by casually. Dylan slowly walked over and sat across from his mother while setting his helmet at his feet and he looked at her from across the table for a moment before he turned his head to the ocean. She slowly looked forward at him and looked at his gloved hands that rested on the table while he stared blankly out at the ocean, then she gently took one of his gloved hands into both of her own and opened it slowly while laying it on the table with his palm up and she ran her fingertips motherly along the rough leather that enclosed her son's hand.

"...What an 18th birthday this has been..." Martha said softly as she put her hand in his.

Dylan watched her open his hand and he gently enclosed his hand around Martha's, "...I still have you, Mom...that's really all I need on my birthday..."

Martha smiled for awhile after he said this, but her smile slowly faded as she looked up at him, "...Dylan...I'm really worried about what caused Siren Alley to suddenly flood with no warning besides an alarm..."

Dylan looked up at her calmly, "Mom, I don't think it's anything serious. Maybe a Brute got through the blockage and the Sisters didn't see him."

Martha's hand tightened on his, "...Dylan..."

He stared at her for awhile, then sighed softly, "I can't leave you here alone to go back and see what happened..."

The sound of the door leading into the Foyer opening made both turn their heads and the group of girls from the Orphanage came out and ran toward him while a Big Sister calmly walked towards Dylan and Martha with a girl on her back. Dylan slowly stood from his chair and the girls either clinged to his legs or tried to crawl up him to get to his chest and he chuckled faintly as he knelt down and the girls who successfully climbed up on him crawled over his shoulders to his back. Martha smiled and slowly stood from her chair as well, then looked over as the Big Sister approached her and the Elder Sister put a blanket over Martha's shoulders gently and Martha gratefully thanked her and held the blanket closed around her. After the girls settled, Dylan gently lowered his upper body for the girls on his back to get down to the floor before he stood slowly and he looked over at Martha.

"Promise me you'll stay with the Big Sister...if I go back to see what caused the flood..." Dylan said softly.

"I'll be fine, Dylan..." Martha said reassuringly while smiling slightly.

Dylan nodded slightly, then looked down to see a girl offering his helmet to him and he nodded in thanks as he gently took it from her. As he walked out of the Grand Foyer, he put the helmet on his head and slowly stepped into the airlock. Dylan pulled the switch and the airlock quickly filled with water as he stood in the center while looking forward. Once the door leading to the outside ocean opened, he swam fish-like out into the sea and made his journey back to Siren Alley while Martha watched from the window.

As he got closer to Siren Alley, he felt a faint rumble shake the ocean around him, as if something large had collapsed onto the sea floor and it was large enough to shake the ocean itself. He swam upward as he was approaching Siren Alley and swam over the entire area while a white shark passed over him casually and Dylan took a gentle hold of one of it's side fins. The creature understood the telepathic pulses he sent from his palm and led him to the Pump Stations before Dylan let go of the shark's fin and he swam his way down and he quickly turned his body so he slowly landed on his feet on the sea floor. What he saw made him still.

A large hole had broke into the metallic outer layer of the Pump Station and Dylan had to swim upward to see the damage that had been done to the controls as well as the inner structure. A Rosie slowly walked into the wreckage to begin repaires while a Burkard walked along the sea floor and Dylan swam overhead of him to get a look at what had caused the damage. A large, pod-like structure lay on the sea floor just below the hole it had created in the Pump Station and Dylan slowly lowered ontop of it to examine the inside. He cleared the glass of the window in the door of the pod, the window being covered in sand, and he looked through the window to see a female face greeting him with closed eyes.

She had snow colored skin with dark lashes gracefully curled at the ends slightly and her hair matched the color of her skin, the air mask on her face telling Dylan that she was on life support. The girl looked no older than him and he could make out the crest for the Russian military tatooed on her collarbone. Dylan looked up at the Burkhard and the Big Daddy assisted Dylan in pulling the door of the pod open, this automatically snapping her eyes open upon being exposed to the ocean water and she began spasming into a panic attack. It was at this moment that Dylan noticed that she was in a straight jacket while wires in her chest led to a heart monitor and an oxygen level monitor and both began beeping loudly as her blood pressure went higher and higher.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's okay! Settle down!" Dylan said quickly as he moved over the girl and he gently took a hold of the sides of her face with his gloved hands.

She slowly blinked her eyes open and slowly stilled while panting silently as she stared up at Dylan with ocean blue eyes, her ocean blue hair flowing freely from her spasming. He took no notice to the color change as he ran a finger lightly along her cheek bone to reassure her that she was going to be alright and he examined the life support system she was hooked to. Monitors on inside of the pod were shown on either side of her, showing her oxygen levels and her heart rate while two other monitors showed a diagram of her heart, which was still beating irregularly, and her lungs that were moving evenly with her panting. A fifth monitor showed the ammount of sedatives that she was to be given if her spasms turned violent.

"I need you to take a deep breath...can you do that for me?" Dylan asked softly once he turned his attention back to the girl.

She hesitantly nodded and Dylan saw her chest rise and still with her caught breath. He motioned the Burkard to move closer and he swam around the Big Daddy to take a hold of the airmask connected to his air tank, then he slowly moved back over the girl and he slowly removed her air mask, ignoring the protest in her eyes before they quickly closed while he moved the air mask connected to the Burkhard over her face and put the strap over her head. The girl slowly opened her eyes after he did this and stared up at him curiously, having expected him to let her drown, and he noticed her slowly relax more than she had after her spasming. He freed her from her straight jacket with his small metallic extension that sprang from his left arm, it being in the shape of a long dagger, and he saw the girl tense at it's presense and her eyes quickly closed once more before she peaked an eye open after she was freed.

"You need to trust me abit more..." Dylan said softly, trying to lighten her spirit abit despite the situation.

He only got a wide-eyed stare in response and he ignored it as he carefully gathered her into his arms and he moved over to the Burkhard and he placed her in his fatherly arms before he swam upwards. The Burkhard slowly turned around and followed Dylan from the sea floor with the girl cradled in his arms, her being much taller than a Little Sister and having a slender feminine body figure while being thin in the legs and arms. She had slightly mature facial features, so Dylan figured that she was at least his age instead of being younger or older. While Dylan led the Burkhard to the Adonis by swimming overhead, the girl stared up at him the whole time while being held against the Burkhard's armor.

He was 18 now, well built and muscular under the leather armor that bared some of his muscles, showing more muscles on his chest and abdomin than his arms or his legs, and his helmet hid his deadly gray skinned face that was now hardened and showed his maturity. He slowly descended into the airlock and slowly lowered onto the floor while the Burkhard walked into the airlock and slowed to a stop at Dylan's side while he pulled the switch. The girl tensed slightly as the door leading to the ocean closed and the water in the airlock slowly began to drain, but she slowly relaxed and tilted her head slightly seeing Dylan pull off his helmet after the water had completly drained. Her eyes were still ocean blue as well as her hair because she was still wet, and her eyes were slightly wider than normal because of her curiosity towards her savior.

Dylan slowly walked out of the airlock and slowly turned around once the Burkhard followed and the Big Daddy stopped in front of Dylan to allow him to remove the air mask from the girl's face and he connected it back onto the Burkhard's airtank before he slowly returned to standing in front of the Burkhard. Her eyes followed him as he did so and she didn't speak a word, being carefully cradled in the Burkhard's arms with an arm over her exposed breasts while her other lay over her flat stomach. Dylan seemed to take no notice to the fact that she was nude in the Big Daddy's arms, nor did he take any notice that her hair and eyes had been different colors before he had opened the pod door and freed her from the straight jacket. She was highly tempted to reach out just to touch his leather armor, but her arms wouldn't respond to her mind's wishes.

"You're lucky that pod was made of thick enough material to protect you from that rough collision..." Dylan said softly as he moved some hair gently from her pale face.

She blinked at him as he did this, then she reached up with the hand that had been resting on her own side and she pulled it off of her cheek to look at it and her eyes examined the leather material that covered it. He blinked and slowly stepped abit closer and stopped when he was only an inch from the Burkhard. The Burkhard groaned whalishly as he slowly set the girl on her feet and carefully held her in place until he felt that she had balance and he slowly stepped back a few inchesafter gently taking Dylan's helmet from his other hand while she kept a gentle hold of Dylan's wrist. She continued staring at the leather surrounding Dylan's hand for a moment longer while staying silent, then she slowly removed his leather elbow-length glove and the material slid off his arm more easily than she thought.

"You don't talk much..." Dylan said softly as he allowed his glove to be removed.

She tilted her head as she took a hold of his hand with one of hers again and she stared at it for a moment before she brought up her other hand and she gently pressed it flat against his, his skin feeling cold while her skin felt warm against his hand. Dylan relaxed his hand against hers and he watched as her hair slowly turned a sickly green as well as her eyes as the telekenetic pulses passed from his palm to the nerves in her palm and they traveled to her entire body. The girl continued staring at their hands that were pressed together and she blinked in response to the pulses before looking at him, but she still didn't say a thing. For awhile they just stared at each other in silence before Dylan softly spoke to break that silence.

"...Welcome to Rapture..." he said softly.

The girl blinked as he said that, the jumped slightly hearing a metallic screech that rang through the corridor. Dylan quickly broke the hand contact and picked up his forgotten glove and pulled it on while looking around quickly, mostly around the ceiling. The Big Sister grunted metallically as she leaped down from the ceiling and landed in an feline-like position behind the girl and she let out a threatening metallic growl as she watched the girl cowar behind Dylan with her face buried in Dylan's shoulder where his airtank wasn't occupying. The Burkhard stepped in between Dylan and the Big Sister while groaning whalishly and loudly, as if scolding the Elder Sister for her behavior.

The Big Sister growled metallically at the Big Daddy, but instantly silenced as the Burkhard gave out a louder whalish groan and a stomp of one of his large diver boots. The Big Sister slouched her shoulders as she moved slowly into a crouch with her head bowed before she leaped off into the shadows and the Burkhard slowly turned to Dylan after the Elder Sister was gone. Dylan offered his airtank and the Burkhard took it silently to have it re-filled and he watched the Burkhard walk off with his helmet and airtank, then he looked back as the girl nuzzled her cheek to the center of his back while her arms went around his torso. He blinked and put his gloved hand over one of her arms.

"Are you tired...?" Dylan asked softly.

He received a slight and silent nod from the girl and he nodded slightly in understanding before reaching down and he gently took a hold of the back of her knees. The girl blinked rapidly and quickly put her arms around his neck before he lifted her off the ground and her legs locked around his waist while she clung to his neck gently. He slowly walked down the corridor to return to the Grand Foyer while carrying the girl on his back and his hands still held the back of her knees while she clung to his neck gently. She was losing her battle to stay awake while her head rested against the back of Dylan's neck. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Dylan slowly entered the Grand Foyer and walked over to an abandoned matress that was seated beside a large pillar and he carefully set the girl down on the matress after he turned his back to it. He then slowly straightened and looked back at her to see her yawn and rub her right eye tiredly. Her hair was now a snow white and her eyes were a bright pink, this time Dylan noticing the color change and raising an eyebrow. She tiredly blinked up at him and he slowly blinked while his raised eyebrow slowly dropped.

"Let me see if I can find some clothes for you around here somewhere..." Dylan said softly.

The girl slowly nodded and Dylan nodded slightly back, then walked off in search of anything that would fit her. Mostly items left behind by the citizens of Rapture consist of food and clothing along with other items that can be useful at times. He knelt down by an abandoned suitcase and opened it before examining the clothing inside for something that he believed would fit the girl. She watched him from her place on the matress before slowly pushing herself to the center of the matress and she laid down in a fetal position while closing her eyes to try and sleep.

She almost succeeded until she felt the presense of someone near her and she opened her eyes to a pair of child eyes that belonged to a little girl with brown hair kept back in a ponytail held tight in a faded pink bow and wearing a strange dress whose skirt went down to her pale knees. The child tilted her head seeing her open her eyes and quickly backed away and clung to the leg of a woman the girl did not know and the woman put a hand on the child's head while giving an odd look to the girl while she remained still on the matress. Martha slowly walked over while motioning the child to stay where she is and kneeled down to examine her, though she didn't say anything, for any wounds. When she slowly stood, Dylan slowly approached and handed the girl a dress he'd found in her size, then took Martha's arm and led her a few steps away to give the girl some privacy as she dressed.

"Dylan? Do you want to explain to me why you brought a naked girl into the Foyer?" Martha asked with her arms crossed.

"I found her in a pod that hit the Pump Station and caused the flood...I couldn't just leave her there..." Dylan replied softly.

Martha sighed softly, "Well, she doesn't have any wounds...I knew you brought her, but I didn't think she'd be the cause of the flood."

"Mom, she was unconscious when I found her...and besides, the pod would have to have been launched to have caused the damage I saw over there. It's not like she just shot herself into the Pump Station." Dylan said with a slight roll of his glowing eyes.

"I'm just glad it was her and not a Splicer trying to cause trouble...the last thing we need right now is the remainders of the Family running about and trying to cause another conflict." Martha huffed.

Dylan slowly nodded and looked down quickly as a pair of pale arms wrapped around his torso from behind while someone nuzzled into his back. Martha blinked and looked behind Dylan to see the white-haired girl nuzzling into Dylan's back while she wore the white, short sleeved dress that had Dylan found for her and Martha giggled faintly while gathering the little girl into her arms after seeing her yawn tiredly. He gently put a hand over one of her arms and watched his mother walk away towards a Big Sister to put the child to sleep, then he looked back at the girl as she continued to cling to him while her head rested on his back. Dylan then slowly turned around and he picked her up bridal-stye, then slowly walked over and set her back down on the matress while he sat down beside her.

He watched her doze off while she lay beside him on her side while facing him and, to him, she looked like a sleeping doll with the way the ocean-colored light reflected on her skin and her form so perfect. Dylan is unaware, but a tingling feeling in his gut began to settle the longer he stared at her and the more he examined her from his sitting position. He was 18, fully matured, and unaware of his hormonal changes because of his lack of knowledge and the only women he's been around being grown up Little Sisters who only obey what they're told to do without a word in response and his own mother. In fact, in truth, he believed Martha didn't even know what changes would occur inside him due to the fact that...he wasn't entirely human as far as physical appearance went, both on the inside and outside.

Dylan slowly laid down on the matress on his back and stared at the formally designed ceiling of the Foyer for a moment in silence before he let his eyes slowly close while his hands folded over his stomach. Unbeknowingst to him, the girl opened an eye to watch him slowly descend into sleep before she slowly moved closer and she hooked her arm around his to pull it apart from it's partner before hugging it to her chest gently while she slowly went back to sleep. The rough leather covering the arm she held to her chest didn't stop her from nuzzling against the arm for warmth, though the skin under the leather was cold as if she was nuzzling against a corpse that had been left to rot.

[The Next Day]

Dylan slowly walked with the girl into the pool area of the Adonis and looked around slowly while keeping her behind him with an arm against her side, then looked back at her once it was safe as he slowly walked into the area while holding her hand to keep her at his side. He slowly walked with her around the pool to the power generator that was sparking violently while refusing to power the Adonis and he released her hand slowly so he could approach it without putting her at risk. A simple bolt of electricity from his arm made the generator whirr to life and the lights in the Adonis slowly came on while "Daddy Won't You Please Come Home?" slowly began playing louder and louder on the speakers until it was at a soothing level. Dylan looked around as this happened, then looked back to see that the girl had vanished from her spot and he quickly looked around before snapping his head to the pool after hearing a splashing of water.

He slowly walked onto the diving board and looked down to see the girl in the pool of water that had settled itself in the deep end of the pool area and the dress he gave her was laying on the shore. Dylan sighed softly and slowly crouched down on the diving board as he watched her surface and he watched her play in the water while being bare and exposed, her hair now an ocean blue once more and she looked up at him playfully with her ocean blue eyes. He gave her a raised eyebrow in response to the look and she only smiled and beckoned him to play with her in the water before dunking herself again. Dylan gave out a slow and soft sigh and just shook his head, then looked back down at her from looking at the ceiling.

"You do realise that water could have life-threatening bacteria in it, right?" Dylan asked.

The girl only stared up at him for a moment and blinked before showing her pale back to him and she vanished into the water without a word. Dylan sighed softly and slowly stood from his crouched position and walked to the edge of the diving board, then leaped down and he landed in a crouch at the shore of the pool of water. He slowly stood and turned towards the water before walking into the water slowly while muttering to himself under his breath like a frustrated sibling. The girl poked her head innocently out of the water as Dylan slowly stopped a distance from her and she slowly stood out of the water just inches in front of him.

Dylan was about to say something before she suddenly clung to his neck gently and pressed herself against her while smiling brightly. He blinked rapidly in confusion to his, but said nothing as his hands hesitantly went to her bare sides and she responded by excitedly bouncing up and down in front of him to get him to pick her up. Dylan raised an eyebrow in confusion and didn't understand what she wanted until she took one of his hands and lowered it to the back of her knee, bending him down in the process, and he sighed softly as he picked up her legs and held her against him in a reverse piggy-back. She smiled more as he did and clung to his neck abit tighter while putting her chin on his leather encased shoulder while he slowly blinked his glowing eyes as his hands slid along her thighs to her waist to support her weight against him.

"...I don't even know your name..." Dylan said softly.

The girl opened her eyes and stared over his shoulder in silence for a few moments before her eyes slowly closed again and she tightened her hold slightly on his neck, but not chokingly. He continued standing their for awhile in thought, then he slowly turned and exited the pool of water and moved to set her feet on the ground. She gave out a whimpering sound as she dug her face into his shoulder and locked her legs around his waist in silent protest and she slowly relaxed again as he gave in and didn't release her. Dylan slowly straightened again while still holding her against him in a reverse piggy-back and turned his head to look at her slightly.

"...Why would you want a "thing"...to hold you like this...?" Dylan asked softly.

The girl blinked and slowly pulled away from him slightly so she could meet his eyes and she gave him a look of complete confusion at him calling himself a "thing". The faded blue in her eyes showed nothing but sudden confusion and he showed his own confusion at the look she was giving him in response to his question. The girl blinked as he only gave her a blank stare and she slowly moved her hand onto his cheek and rubbed it for a few moments before slowing to a rest on his cheek. Dylan blinked rapidly at this and stared at her blankly as his cheek was rubbed.

"...You're not repulsed by my face...?" Dylan asked softly.

The girl smiled brightly and shook her head without a word being said. Dylan blinked at her in response to her answer and watched as she placed her head back on his shoulder while her arm went back around his neck. He continued watching her silently while he still held her in the reverse piggy-back, her soft flesh not being bothered by the rough leather surrounding the waist they were latched around and her warmth being welcome against his cold skin that he hid under the rough leather of his armor. A silence broke between them, until an alarm broke that silence and he quickly lifted his head hearing the entrances to the pool area loudly seal themselves closed and locked while the pool area became red.

"Please pardon the interuption. A lockdown has been initiated and will be in effect until a Rapture police official has deemed it safe and secure. Please stay in your area until local authorities tell you to otherwise. Remain calm and follow all instructions given. Rapture...the only place in the world with the highest level of security for your safety!" a female voice said over the intercom.

The girl whimpered softly as Dylan carefully set her feet on the ground and she looked at him worriedly as he gathered up her dress. She raised her arms and allowed Dylan to pull the piece of clothing onto her body while he quietly and reassuringly told her they were going to be alright and that it was just a security bug. He remained calm and relaxed until he heard the muffled and loud scream of an Alpha Series Big Daddy and every muscle in his body locked in place. Alpha Series' were the first line in Big Daddy production and the first victims to the Protector Program, victims because many of them either shut down into comas or went into a never-ending maddness after being seperated from their Little Sisters, who they were bonded for life to because of Gilbert Alexander's doing.

Over the years, the Alpha Series' were gathered up and forced into freezing tubes after Sofia Lamb left Rapture with her daughter and they had been frozen ever since. How there were Alpha Series still walking around was a mystery to Dylan, but he heard that Alpha Series Big Daddies were harder to deal with than a Bouncer you p***ed off. He quietly ordered the girl to stay put before he leaped up onto the diving board and he watched with tense muscles as three Alpha Series appeared from the three entrances on the other side of the pool area from where Dylan was standing, two holding machine guns and the third held a grenade launcher. The fire-arm equipped Alphas instantly fired upon seeing Dylan and he quickly dodged the bullets by quickly leaping onto the wall and animalistically moving along the wall before leaping onto the grenade-launcher holding Alpha Series.

From his hands, Dylan released a dangerous amount of Electro Bolt into the Alpha Series while he was crouched ontop on the Alpha Series' shoulders and the failure Big Daddy fell with a low mummbled groan while Dylan collapsed with him. As Dylan forced himself to stand while trying to shake the fuzzyness from his vision, one of the fire-arm carrying Alphas rushed over and grabbed Dylan by the helmet and a loud bang of metal against metal was heard in result of the Alpha Series' helmet slamming into Dylan's and Dylan fell to the floor. When his eyes opened, Dylan, through blurred vision, saw the Alpha Series lift one of large metallic diver boots over Dylan's head, then the Alpha Series quickly looked towards the pool area and Dylan slowly turned his head to see a large swirling vortex of water rising from the pool area with violent electric bolts shooting from it and two bolts of electricity latched onto the two remaining Alpha Series and Dylan slowly looked up to see his attacker be electricuted to the death.

His eyes closed for a few moments to the sound of the vortex bursting and water splashing randomly in many directions and he opened them to see a pair of feminine feet approach him while his ears still rang from the head-to-head collision with the Alpha Series and his weakness from ADAM deprivision. He slowly reached out and took a hold of one of the feminine ankels once the feet stopped a distance from him and he then saw a feminine knee bend as his approaching savior knelt down beside him so he didn't have to let go of the ankel he still gently held. A feminine hand took his wrist and and his hand was then held against a warm breast, a pulsing warmth spreading through him from the contact and the female's heartbeat pulsing in his ears while his vision began to clear while the pain in his head and the numbness of his body slowly vanished. The feminine hands slowly left his and Dylan traveled his hand up to her collarbone before his hand slowly lowered to the floor since he couldn't raise it any further.

"...Dylan...I won't let any one hurt you...not ever..." a feminine voice said gently. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Dylan slowly awoke from unconsciousness to see two Big Sisters knelt down on either side of him while examining him concernedly until he let out a faint groan in response to his headache and the two Elder Sisters made equally soft metallic noises as one slowly removed his helmet while the other slowly stood and walked off from his view. The girl slowly appeared in his sight and she slowly lowered onto her knees where the second Big Sister had been as Dylan slowly raised a hand to put it on her cheek once she was at his side. She smiled and closed her pink colored eyes as she held his gloved hand against her cheek while sighing peacefully and also relief that he was alright. The longer Dylan stared at her, the more she looked like a doll to him as she stayed perfectly still with a hand over hers to keep Dylan's hand on her cheek and the color of the atmosphere around them gave her a porcelain skin color.

"Are you okay, Dylan?" she asked concernly in a mature woman's voice, snapping Dylan out of his trance.

"...You can talk..." Dylan said softly while looking back up at her.

She smiled and gently ran her hand along his cheek slowly, "...I woke up..."

Dylan blinked, but didn't have time to question her response as Martha's voice rang through the pool area with a fearful tone and he slowly sat up to see his mother making her way dashingly towards him. The girl gently helped Dylan to his feet only seconds before Martha clung to her son tightly and Dylan held his trembling mother against him as Martha fought against her tears of concern from having seen Dylan's condition a few minutes before. He stroked his mother's back while gently rocking side-to-side with his mother wrapped tightly in his arms and he added occasional strokes to his mother's hair to distract himself from his own tears that threatened to form from his mother's pain being sent through from her arms around his neck to his entire body from his nerves sensitivity. Dylan had to admit, there was sometimes he wished that he couldn't feel others emotions by touching them, but he also felt a warm feeling in his chest from being reminded of his mother's endless love and he looked over his shoulder slightly to see the girl put her head between his shoulder blades while her arms went around his torso.

Once his mother settled down, she slowly pulled away from him and he gently wiped her tears away and he smiled slightly once he saw her do so. He then looked over to see the girl slowly move to his side and he gently put his arm around her in a gentle side-hug before looking up at the Big Sisters hearing their metallic sounds. The Elder Sisters were draining the Alpha Series' of their ADAM to be sure they'd be useless if someone happened to attempt in reviving them and they occasionally looked up at each other while making occasional metallic noises in communication. The girl tilted her head in seeing this before jumping slightly and clinging to Dylan tighter hearing a man's voice over the inter-com.

"What a mess Alfred has made..." the man's voice said.

Dylan looked upward seeing a screen lowering from the ceiling over the entrance that led to the Grand Foyer and slowly walked over after releasing the girl from his arm and she and his mother followed close behind as he made his way in front of the screen once it finally lowered a few feet from the ground and slowed to a stop. The lights slowly dimmed in the area and the doors slowly closed over both entrances as the screen began to static and soon the Rapture "Please Stand By" image appeared on the screen while the two Big Sisters moved behind Dylan and the two women. A man's face soon appeared on the screen, around the age of 42 with dark eyes, dark short hair, and a clean scientific lab coat with Caucasian skin. He also had a faint muscular build and wore clear rimmed glasses with rectangular lenses.

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman. My names is ...Charles Mason. I am a researcher in Minerva's Den and...unfortunatly, I am in desperate need of your help, Dylan." the man said softly.

Dylan tilted his head slightly, "...You look...strangely familiar..."

"...Ah, Dylan...you may not remember me well...but I was present at the Orphanage at the time of your infant years. I only got to hold you in my arms once when Rosemarie was away and she put a stop to that before I had to return to Minerva's Den to continue my research. Dylan...in my eyes...it a crime you have to...waste your...your youth...your strength...your will to live and strive as a heroine...in a place like this." Charles said.

"I remember you just fine...you were the one who tried contacting me through radio..." Martha said softly while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Communication outside of Minerva's Den is limited...I was only able to get through with staticy messages to your mother, Dylan. The first day I saw you, I pleaded with Rosemarie to let me give you proper and safe housing with your mother her in the Adonis...but, she refused...she told me that she believed Martha was an unfit mother because of her choice to hide in the medical clinic in Pauper's Drop. Rosemarie hid her location from me, so I had no way of knowing. When I discovered she was putting you in...THEIR protection, Dylan...I was already occupied with other things and I couldn't fit in any time to see you. I don't blame you that your memory of me is faint. I wanted to get you out of Rapture, Dylan...to get you and your mother help...but, Rosemarie closed down the bathyspheres just around the time I tried sending an audio diary to Martha..." Charles said softly.

"What exactly were you occupied so much with, ? You make it sound really important and you strike my curiosity." Dylan said in interest.

"Here in Minerva's Den, my colleague, Alfred, and I have been trying to bring new life to Minerva's Den by repairing the machinery and making our own labs and forging new technology. At first it was just an engineering project...but, then...I started getting ideas on how to re-construct the Vita-Chamber to not just make it revive a life...but to create...life. During the time I was making blueprints for my machine, Alfred began splicing behind my back and when the machine was finished, Alfred immediately began pushing me to use it. This was why I found it difficult to contact you. Originally, Rosemarie, Alfred, and myself came to Rapture to try and revive the life in a forgotten paradise...but we only plummeted Rapture deeper into the madness that refused to clear itself." Charles replied.

"Why exactly do you need my help, Doctor?" Charles asked curiously.

"Alfred has taken over Minerva's Den...he has control over the machinery...but, I can hack into the airlock using the Thinker computer long enough for you to enter Minerva's Den. Please, hurry, Dylan...I don't have alot of time..." Charles said before the screen went black.

The screen slowly rose into the ceiling and the lights slowly came back to life while Dylan stood there while looking at the floor in thought. The girl looked at him and said nothing as her hand took one of his and he instantly gave it a gentle reassuring grip, his mother gripping gently onto his other and him closing his hand instantly around it in a gentle grip. The Big Sisters looked at each other, then at Dylan's back before they slowly walked off to continue what they had been doing. Dylan sighed softly and slowly raised his head after taking a long moment of silent thought.

"...Looks like we're making a trip then..." Martha said softly.

"...No..." Dylan said softly as he released both of their hands.

The girl blinked, ""No" what?"

"I'm going alone...I don't want you both getting hurt. Wait here until I get back..." Dylan said softly as he turned to them.

"Dylan..." the girl said softly with a hurt tone in her voice as she moved over to him.

Dylan shook his head slowly taking a step back, "...No..."

"Dylan...I taught you better than that...take her with you...if not me." Martha said softly as she walked over and took a hold of her shoulders.

Dylan was about to protest once more before the girl walked over quickly and took his hand, then put it against her breast where her heart was. He tensed slightly before slowly relaxing as her heartbeat filled his ears, the painful beating making him clench his other hand into a fist while he stared at the floor and the girl slowly relaxed seeing the weakness beginning to show in his eyes, signalling that he was giving in. Martha's eyebrows both went up seeing the girl put Dylan's hand on his breasts and the Big Sisters both stared at the scene with their heads tilted to the side in curiosity. Dylan slowly looked at the girl and she moved abit closer to him still holding his hand to her breast.

"...D*** you..." Dylan said softly while giving her a playful glare while lowering his hand from her breast quickly.

The girl giggled faintly and hugged onto him gently around his torso. Dylan put his arms gently around her and looked over her head at Martha and he tensed slightly at the raised eyebrow she was giving him and the tightly crossed arms over his mother's chest. She said nothing while just giving Dylan a "is there something you should be telling me?" look and Dylan sunk his head down until his lips met the girl's down while his glowing eyes gave his mother an innocent look. If there was someone Dylan was scared of more than a Burkhard on a bad day, it was his mother whenever she gave him one of those looks and was stiff as a statue.

"...I'm not saying anything..." Martha said before slowly relaxing her posture and lowering her raised eyebrow.

Dylan slowly relaxed as well, then looked down at the girl as she pulled away from him slightly, "Are you sure you want to go?"

The girl said nothing but give him a look and he returned it with a look of his own, which made her giggle and nod slowly, "Yes, I'm sure."

Dylan nodded slightly, then slowly released her and turned towards his approaching mother. He put his arms around her and held her against him son-like while her arms draped around him in a motherly manner and they squeezed him slightly as if to give a silent saying. As Dylan tightened his hold slightly on his mother, he realised, as his cheek brushed against hers, that she was beginning to realise herself that he was old enough now where he didn't need his mother's guidance all the time and he gently rubbed her back as if to tell her that her emotions were wrong. Even at 18, he still wanted his mother at his side, no matter what...that was his birthday wish he made yesterday long before the flood of Siren Alley.

"...Be careful...my boy..." Martha said softly with her chin on his shoulder.

"I won't be long, mom...I promise..." Dylan said softly as he slowly released her and he looked at her.

Martha said nothing as she looked at him for awhile, then she slowly looked at the girl and forced a slight smile, "Don't let him get himself hurt..."

The girl silently nodded, not knowing how to respond when Martha's eyes were filled with mixed emotions of sadness from seeing Dylan go and hurt from realization that he was 18 and considered an adult now. Both natural emotions of a mother who had held onto her son for so long after losing him once and had vowed not to lose him again. This time, she had to let him go and keep her head high as he did what he naturally believed was his duty for Rapture and for people like him...save Rapture from a lunatic. The thing that hurt Martha the most was that she knew, in her gut and in her heart, that Dylan believed he could do it on his own without the assistance of his sisters and he'd been depriving himself of ADAM, the substance that gave him the strength he used so well when full, for years and using the ADAM he did have in his system to save Little Sisters.

Dylan gently kissed his mother's forehead before he slowly moved back from her and looked over to see the girl moving toward him and he turned his back to her, she instantly responding and putting her arms around his neck gently and her legs around his waist after he knelt slightly. He then stood and rushed off and out of the pool area of the Adonis toward the airlock. He slowed to a walk as the airlock came into view and set the girl on her feet, then watched as she moved into the airlock first before he walked in behind her. The Burkhard from earlier came at the entrance of the airlock with Dylan's helmet, air-tank, and even his weapons in his arms and Dylan took them silently, the girl assisting with strapping his air-tank to his body, then nodded to the Burkhard in thanks and Dylan leaned against a wall as the Big Daddy walked off.

Dylan's weaponry is basic if you think about it. His weaponry consists of similar objects that run along his arm and are strapped to his arm by leather belts, but only by thought do his weapons get activated. On his arms are two sensory devices that respond to thought and image before releasing a weapon of Dylan's choice on either arm and the screen just below the device shows ammo type/how much ammo is left or stored, drill fuel percentage, etc. That's for his right arm. The sensory device on his left arm only releases one weapon, which is a similar needle-like extension as the Big Sisters for when he has to gather ADAM for strength.

However, if the device senses Dylan's deprivation of ADAM has left him with only some of his strength, it will act upon it's own to release the extension automatically and stab Dylan's arm with a small syringe built into the device that drains the ADAM gauge built into the device until it's empty, then retract the syringe. Though painful, Dylan often deals with the pain before battle and uses the strength it gives him without a second thought. Dealing with the pain often leaves him with ending the battle faster than he would if not for the device, which was secretly built by the Big Sisters without his knowledge and specially designed by their knowledge of his ADAM deprivation. Pain is usually almost instantly replaced with an odd sense of pleasure and an odd sense of peace.

Dylan winced faintly feeling the quick jab of the small syringe built into the device, but his pain slowly dimmed into a peaceful warmth and he slowly lowered onto the floor with his back sliding on the wall. The girl slowly walked over and lowered on her knees in front of him with a frown of concern on her face as she reached forward and removed his helmet. When she looked at his eyes, the yellow glow in them seemed to be dimmed and she could more clearly see the irises and pupils that remained underneath the yellow haze and she moved closer out of curiosity of his eyes. His eyes moved in her direction as she did so and her hand went on his abdomen for balance as she stopped moving closer when her face was only inches away from his.

If her hand was over his chest, she would've felt his heart pounding not only from the rush the ADAM gave him, but from his hormones reacting almost instantly from the contact of her warm hand on his cold armor and how close their faces were. He had to fight against his ADAM-flooded nerves to keep himself against the wall and instead settled with his gloved hand taking hers while he continued looking into her eyes while still a tint of concern was settled in her pink irises. She didn't seem to notice from being too transfixed in his eyes to feel his gloved hand over hers and didn't even make a move, as if she was in a trance. Dylan blinked slowly as he listened to the whispers in his ear and he slowly leaned in towards her, but her voice broke his advances.

"Are you okay...?" she asked softly in concern.

Dylan blinked rapidly as he snapped himself into reality and slowly backed away against the wall, "...Yeah...I'm fine. I haven't had any ADAM in a long time..."

""ADAM?"" she asked softly.

"It's a biological substance obtained from a sea slug only found around Rapture...ADAM is only sickly green in it's natural form. Mixed with blood, it turns a bright red that even glows in the darkness. Not only can it change someone's DNA ladder, but it can also give them abilities similar to mine and the Big Sisters'." Dylan replied.

"Do you feed off of it?" she asked curiously.

Dylan nodded slightly, "Mmhm...it gives me my energy to stay alive. I've been starving myself of the substance for years and the only ADAM I get is whatever is stored in the ADAM gauge on my left arm..."

She blinked at him, then widened her eyes slightly, "I never did tell you that I remember my name...did I...?"

Dylan blinked at her and shook his head, "Mm-mm..."

"My name's Lilith...I know it's a weird name, but I remember..." she said softly.

"Dylan..." he replied softly.

"I like that name..." Lilith said softly.

"I like yours too...we need to get going soon..." Dylan replied.

She smiled slightly and nodded, then slowly stood and helped Dylan to his feet before she gently placed his helmet on his head. He then placed the air-mask on her face and they stared at one another for a moment in silence. Dylan searched her eyes for anything that would tell him she knew what he almost did, but he didn't see anything in her eyes besides concern for him still and also a tint of excitement and adventure. He gave up a few seconds later and pulled the switch that filled the airlock with water.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Dylan silently led the way through the ocean, holding Lilith's hand gently to keep her close to him as she swam at his side and he tried to keep his eyes forward from looking at her ocean blue hair that flowed gracefully with the water. She was occupied in looking around at the large buildings and staring in awe at the neon lights that showed beautifully in the water surrounding them. She then snapped her head up as a whale groaned above them while making his way slowly overhead of Dylan and Lilith as they stared at his large, wide underside and Dylan looked at her before slowly moving her towards him with her back against his chest, then turned himself so his back was facing the ocean floor and he took her hand within his. Lilith stared back at him with eyes slightly widened in confusion before they difted up as she felt her fingers graze the leathery skin of the whale's belly and she giggled faintly hearing him rumble as if purring to the gesture before she looked back at Dylan excitedly.

Lilith's smile slowly faded as she went into thought while staring at Dylan through the porthole of his helmet and her hand slowly laced with his gloved fingers, silently wishing she knew what it was like to have such a bond with the ocean world around you while still maintaining human contact with the one person you loved most. She never said it outloud, but from the time Lilith left her home and arrived in Rapture, Dylan was the first person she met with a heart that was brave and true to the ones he loved...he was the first person she'd met that valued everything he was given and didn't take it for granted. As she allowed Dylan to turn them so that she could look at the ocean floor and at all the sea life, she held onto his hands that rested on her belly to keep her close while she continued pondering on his character. The one thing she wished the most to be the outcome of getting this close to Dylan was to see the world he saw and to know how he feels...that was her wish because, deep down, she didn't really remember the last time she'd met someone who cared about her...and he hadn't known her past two days.

She was broken out of her trance as she began seeing forgotten machinery on the sea floor and looked up to see them passing larger machinery and parts of a bridge left forgotten before she looked back up at Dylan, though he never met her gaze as he manuevered them through the machine graveyard. Dylan then slowly swam past a corner and they were met with a walkway leading to an airlock with bold words reading "MINERVA'S DEN" welded into the metal above the airlock. He slowly lowered down to the walkway and set Lilith on the metal while looking around suspiciously as every muscle in his body tensed and he became completly alert. He walked alongside Lilith on the walkway slowly while holding her hand and keeping her close to him while he still looked around and he didn't relax until they were in the airlock, his helmet radio staticing upon them entering.

"Dylan...I'm afraid I won't be able to meet you on the other side. Something just came up and I need to take care of it first. But, do not fret, I have you well protected from any danger that my colleuge might throw upon you. Also, I've sent a messanger to greet you once you're close to the heart of Minerva's Den. Hurry, Dylan...I have something important to discuss with you." Charles said over the radio before his helmet radio went silent.

Dylan pulled the lever and the water drained out of the airlock as soon as the door behind him and Lilith dropped closed. Once the airlock was fully drained, he carefully removed the air mask from Lilith's face and blinked noticing her hair practically sticking to her arms and her wet clothing, which was now see-through and Lilith had her trembling arms around her chest while she stared at the floor. He slowly placed the air mask against his air tank and walked out to look around for danger that might be waiting for them and had heard the airlock. Dylan then slowly turned to see Lilith standing right behind him while rubbing her arms to warm herself up and she was looking up at him with ocean blue eyes that Dylan couldn't resist staring into.

"D-Dylan? C-Could you hold me for abit? I-I-I'm f-freezing..." Lilith asked shakily as she continued rubbing her arms.

Dylan blinked, then nodded slightly and held out his arms to her. She smiled and slowly moved into them and closed her eyes to the comfort of his leather armor as his arms wrapped around her securely. He then turned her sideways and picked her up bridal style while still holding her against him gently as he began walking through Minerva's Den while he warmed Lilith by focusing his Incinerate! energy into his arms. His arms glowed a dim magma red in response to this as heat was sent through Lilith's nerve system and it warmed her body while also drying her off.

"Mmm..." Lilith purred as she nuzzled against Dylan's shoulder while her hair slowly shifted from an ocean blue to a firey red as well as her eyes.

Dylan slowly made his way into the first lobby and looked around to see the room almost pitch black other than the ocean colored lights coming from the sky light. He tensed as a machine woman greeted with him with a programmed welcome and slowly passed her after seeing that she wasn't a threat to continue his way through Minerva's Den. His helmet radio began to static as he continued walking, a rough chuckling barely being heard within the static, and Dylan slowed to a stop to try and see if the static would clear. It did clear eventually and Dylan heard a sinister chuckle in a rough man's voice and Dylan tensed slightly, not noticing Lilith staring up at him with concern.

"Ah, Dylan...I'm so proud of what you've got growin' inside ya. Just to bad your mommy kept it all bottled up inside ya for so long...the beast is asleep...soon, though. Soon, Dylan, you're gonna see what me and Rosemarie had planned all along..." the rough voice said before the static returned.

It cleared once more as Charles' sigh was heard over the radio, "Alfred...he was my greatest friend. Splicing turned him mad...and ruined a good man."

Dylan continued walking once the radio became silent once more and he slowly entered another empty lobby, this being bigger than the last, and he looked around at his surroundings suspiciously. He then looked down hearing the pattering of small feet on the hard floor and widened his eyes slightly in disbelief once he saw a Little Sister rushing towards him with something in her hand. She slowed to a stop in front of him with an innocent smile and held up a radio communicator in her small hand while not saying a word. Dylan slowly got over his shock and disbelief to use his Telekenesis to pick up the device and stared at it in slight confusion.

"Put this in your lady friend's ear so she can hear our conversations, Dylan. If she's going to be traveling with you, she might as well listen in to what we are discussing together." Charles said over his helmet radio.

Dylan nodded and silently did so with Telekenesis, it fitting perfectly against Lilith's ear, then he looked down at the Little Sister with blank eyes. Lilith turned on the device by pressing her finger against it and slowly balanced herself as Dylan set her on her feet on the floor. She watched Dylan as he knelt down and held his arms out to the Little One and Lilith smiled slightly as the Little Sister giggled and eagerly went into his arms while sisterly wrapping her arms around Dylan's neck. The Sister didn't seem to notice Dylan's eyes through the porthole of his helmet.

"Ah, good...now, the Subject Chamber is located at the other end of Minerva's Den, where the Thinker is located. The heart of Minerva's Den. I've been able to restore and re-program the Thinker myself. It's funny...but, he seems eager to meet you, Dylan." Charles said softly over the radio.

"I've heard rumors of the Thinker computer...is that the same Thinker you're talking about?" Dylan asked curiously while standing up as he held the Little Sister against him.

"Why, yes. Originally, the Thinker computer was created and only programmed to predict the outcomes of baseball games and predict lottery numbers. But, Charles Milton Porter, the creator, gave the Thinker a personality to attempt in making the Thinker act and sound like his deceased wife, Pearl Porter. The creator left the machine behind and left Rapture with the Thinker's intellect programming system, but I was able to reboot and hack into the system and restore some data the Thinker kept with it." Charles replied.

Dylan nodded slightly and slowly walked forward while looking up at a statue of a muscular man in a thinking pose against a stone where he eternally sits, then he looked over at the Sister and saw that she had her head resting on his shoulder. He blinked and slowly knelt down on the floor while setting the Sister gently on the floor on her bare feet. Lilith blinked as he watched him do so and watched as Dylan raised a gloved hand as it glowed a pure white. Dylan the placed his hand on the girl's forehead and a white light bursted from the contact of his hand to her head.

He smiled slightly behind his helmet once his vision cleared and the girl looked up at him with normal brown eyes and smiled innocently. She hugged him around his neck again while giggling softly and he returned the embrace whole-heartedly while Lilith stared in slight disbelief to what Dylan had just done. The girl slowly released him and moved back away from him to curtsie and cutely say her thanks before scurring off to find a Little Sister vent to crawl into for safety. Dylan slowly stood and looked over at Lilith who was still staring at him.

"How did you do that...?" Lilith asked in awe.

"I promised them a long time ago that I'd protect them and free them from their endless dream. Born without the slug with access to every plasmid available at my disposal...that's me. Every plasmid including the one that is said to free them from the parasite's control." Dylan replied softly.

Lilith slowly moved beside him, "...What made you promise...?"

Dylan was silent for a long while before answering, "...I was betrayed from the one person that I believed to be my mother figure. She believed my only purpose was to be a sperm-bank to a bunch of unconscious Big Sisters that had out-lived their usefullness. So...I decided to do something else with my life rather than donate my sperm constantly every day..."

"Wh-What?" Lilith asked in horror, trying to hide the anger in her tone.

"...I'll show you what I mean when we get out of here and Minerva's Den is safe..." Dylan replied.

Lilith nodded silently and slightly while she gently took a hold of Dylan's gloved hand and she gripped it between hers to contain her anger at what Dylan just told her. He returned the gentle grip and slowly walked with her away to continue their travel through Minerva's Den. As they walked, Dylan looked around at all the technology that he had never seen before in awe and curiosity through his helmet porthole and Lilith watched him in slight amusement as he only kept his attention on the machinery. Moments later, they entered the heart of Minerva's Den, the room of the Thinker.

The Thinker was a large computer that consisted of different screens that were blank and was built into the wall with it's cords and wires running along the floor and walls of the room to generate power into the machine. Dylan looked up and down at the cords before tensing slightly as a light appeared in one of the rooms on the second floor of the room and he got into a defensive stance in front of Lilith. He then slowly relaxed as Charles appeared in the window and he slowly got out of his stance after recognising him from the t.v. monitor from earlier. Lilith, however, remained tense and clung to Dylan's arm gently once he was out of his stance.

"Dylan...oh, thank goodness. You came. Safe and sound. I'm up here in the Control Room...just wait a few moments and I will open the doorway for you." Charles said through the radio before he slowly vanished from the glass window.

Lilith gently tapped Dylan's shoulder to get his attention and pointed towards the large machine built into the wall, "I-Is that the Thinker you were talking about?"

Dylan blinked and nodded slowly, "Mmhm. That's the Thinker...the most legendary of Rapture's technology...although, the Big Sisters said it was a hush-hush thing..."

The machine suddenly had a white light turn on above it's screens and made a metallic sound as the screens began staticing before showing different sections of Minerva's Den and electricity ran along the cords and wires going out from the machine along the wall. The main and largest screen glowed white and in black bold letters had "THINKER" written across the screen letter-by-letter as if someone was typing it. Lilith made a sound of surprise from the machine's sudden life and quickly moved behind Dylan, only peaking over his shoulder when the Thinker became silent. Dylan, however, remained calm and watched the Thinker awaken itself.

"VISITORS...SCANNING..." the Thinker's metallic voice said.

Two seperate white lights appeared on Dylan and Lilith from the scanners above the Thinker and a dinging sound was heard only a few moments earlier as Dylan's profile appeared on one screen while Lilith's appeared on another.

"ANALYZING...DYLAN HARRIS...PRESENT KNOW IDENTITY: "BIG BROTHER"...ANALYZING...LILITH...FORMER KNOWN IDENTITY: "SUBJECT BETA"..." the Thinker spoke.

"I beg pardon for the Thinker's curiosity. His analyzing program is something that is permanently etched into his intellect...I look at yours and...oh, Dylan, I am so proud of all you have accomplished. However, your lady friend has me curious...it says here that she was scheduled for an execution in Russia before being shipped out to sea..." Charles said over the radio. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Lilith frowned slightly at her subject name and clutched onto Dylan's armor. Dylan blinked and looked back at her, feeling a change in her energy flow. A loud rumbling made both quickly look at the space under an arch-way between two rooms on the second floor with windows and the entire wall slowly slid upward, revealing a glass walled tunnel with a metallic frame.

"This will take you to where we have been running genetic testings...it's also where I've been hiding all these years with my subjects. The Subject Chamber is down the hall on the right...I will meet you there, Dylan." Charles said over the radio.

Dylan nodded slightly and slowly walked towards the tunnel, Lilith following him closely. As they descended down the tunnel, a white whale swam over-head slowly and Lilith clung to Dylan's arm at the size of the sea creature. Dylan looked up at the whale as it swam by and they continued walking, the door up ahead slowly sliding up as they approached.

The room beyond the door was large and metallically walled and floored with computers along the walls, ending to the hallways at Dylan's right and left. Up ahead were two separate stair-cases that led to a copper-colored door. Dylan slowly made a right and walked down the hall with Lilith following him closely.

Another door slowly rose, revealing a darker room, and abit larger, with a glass dome with a metallic frame. Inside the dome, Dylan saw beds lined up against the two sides of the dome with childish toys laying on the floor. Little Sisters slept peacefully in the beds while some were occupying themselves in playing with the toys and conversating with each other.

Lilith blinked seeing this and looked at Dylan, not seeing any movement out of him. Dylan stayed silent and motionless as he stared at the Little Sisters inside the dome through the porthole in his helmet, then slowly walked over to the door leading into the dome. He then silently electrocuted the motion-sensored lock and the door slowly rose open, the Little Sisters ceasing whatever they were doing and turning their heads to watch Dylan enter.

Lilith followed Dylan into the dome and smiled slightly seeing the Little Sisters instantly crowd around Dylan and she sat down slowly on one of the beds, then blinked seeing one Little Sister sitting on a bed at the very end of the row. Dylan silently took a hold of one of the Sisters and picked her up, holding her in one arm while he lifted the other and flexing his hand. His palm glowed a pure white and he slowly placed it on the girl's head, a pure white light filling his and her vision.

The girl blinked and slowly lifted her head to look at Dylan after the light left her vision and she lifted a hand to his helmet. Dylan silently put a hand over hers, then gently set the girl on her feet and picked up another, repeating the whole process. With every Sister he freed. Dylan was given some ADAM through his system, almost an equal amount to how much he was using to save them.

Dylan slowly lowered the last girl he had saved, then looked up slightly at the Little Sister still sitting on her bed. She had a knee-length white dress, the same style as the others, with her hair back in a braid that traveled down her back, and black dress shoes on her feet. The girl lifted her head slowly sensing Dylan approach her bedside and she lifted her arms to reach for him.

Dylan bent over and held her to him gently like a toddler, then quickly lifted his head as the lights in the dome shut off suddenly and a loud thud was heard on the ceiling. Lilith frowned seeing a pair of red glowing eyes staring down at her and Dylan, then tensed seeing the shadowed creature quickly dart away from it's place at the top of the dome. Dylan watched the creature's movements carefully while he held the Little Sister in his arms while the rescued girls panicked and crowded around him fearfully.

The creature leaped down onto the floor and glared at Dylan through the glass, then suddenly cringed and let out a surprised growl as a white light appeared on him from a security camera and an alarm went off. The light revealed a ten-year-old male creature with doggish-like legs, sharpened claws instead of claws and fingers, a hunched over body frame with small white spikes running along his spine to between his shoulder blades, red eyes with snakish pupils, tanned skin, and tri-colored spiked hair. The creature also had a reptilian-like tail, bat-like wings, and a pair of pure white canines.

"SECURITY BREACH. DEPLOYING SECURITY BOTS." the Thinker announced.

Five Security Bots appeared and released high voltages of electricity, enough to make the creature cry out in pain and collapse to the floor once it was paralyzed. Lilith frowned at this and quickly stood, rushing out of the dome and lowering beside the creature once the Bots had left. The creature laid in a daze for a few moments with his eyes blank, then they slowly rose to Lilith as pain and loneliness replaced the hostile features they had presented just seconds ago before he dug his face slowly into the floor with a painful whimper.

Lilith frowned even more seeing a collar around it's neck that was flashing red, "Dylan!"

Dylan rushed out with the Sister still in his arms and slowed to a stop behind her. The creature gave out a whimpering sound into the floor as the collar began to flash quicker and quicker by the second before a loud cry was heard from him as he grabbed onto the collar, high voltages of electricity running through his system and causing him to jerk around in pain. Lilith frowned put her hands over mouth as she shakily stood and she hid her face in the shoulder the Little Sister wasn't laying her head on of Dylan.

Dylan frowned behind his helmet, then he slowly lifted his head and looked over as Charles appeared from the shadows and watched as Charles lowered beside the creature with an angered frown on his face. The Little Sister blankly looked at Lilith and reached over slowly to play with her hair lightly. Lilith slowly lifted her head and blinked at the Sister, then looked at Charles as the creature let out a soft whimpering sound once the pain dimmed.

Charles gently gathered the creature into his arms fatherly and ran a hand along his head gently, "There, there, Heba...Alfred sent you...didn't he...?"

The creature slowly nodded his head with nothing but pain and loneliness in his eyes as he gazed up at Charles with crystal clear tears falling from his eyes. Charles whispered soothingly to Heba as he held him against him abit tighter and Heba made crying sounds as he nuzzled his face deeply into Charles' chest. Dylan and Lilith silently looked at each other.

"He's just a child..." Lilith whispered.

Dylan nodded slightly, then slowly looked back at Charles and Heba, "He said Alfred had sent him..."

Lilith nodded, then looked at the Little Sister noticing how she stared at Heba blankly and blinked at her silent behavior. Charles, meanwhile, was occupied in picking the lock of the collar with an ink pen while Heba was still trembling in his arms and Heba gave a slight surprised jerk as the collar came undone. The scientist carefully removed the collar from Heba's neck and let it fall to the floor carelessly.

Charles slowly ran a hand through Heba's hair carefully, "There, there, Little One..."

Heba purred softly as Charles did so and curled his tail slightly between his legs in a doggish manner. Dylan slowly walked over to stand beside Charles while staring down at Heba from behind his helmet and the Sister rose her head from Dylan's shoulder silently to stare down at Heba as well. Heba looked back up at Dylan curiously before his eyes met the Sister's and he made a rumbling sound in his throat curiously.

"...I do hope you forgive me, Dylan...I didn't know Alfred would do something like this..." Charles said as he slowly stood with Heba still in his arms.

Dylan blinked behind his helmet, "That's alright, doctor..."

Charles slowly stood and walked past the dome and over to the staircase, "Come, Heba...let's go see your brother..."

Heba looked up at Charles quickly and made an excited noise. Charles chuckled softly and slowed to a stop by the door, Heba's tail opening it slowly before Charles continued into a large lab-like room with a glass screen built into the wall on the other end of the lab, but the blackness on the other side made it difficult to see what room it was. Dylan slowly followed with Lilith close behind him and the Sister still in his arms.

Dylan slowly followed Charles over to the glass with Lilith behind him still and silently stared through the glass. Charles held Heba to him gently in one arm while he used his other hand to switch on the lights in the chamber below them and they came on one-by-one. In the center of the chamber was a creature laying in a fetal position with his back to the glass on a metallic platform.

"This is Atemu...Heba's older brother..." Charles said softly.

Heba made an excited noise and leaped out of Charles' arms and onto the glass, gently tapping on it with his tail. Atemu began to shift after the third tap and he slowly pushed himself off the platform into a crouched position while he looked up at the glass. He looked as if he was more mature version of Heba.

His hair was crimson along the tips of his spikes, the base hair being night black and his bangs a golden blond. His eyes were crimson with snake-like pupils, his eye lashes dark and overlapping his eyes, Heba's eyelashes doing the same. His skin was a darker tan and he had more muscles on his his body than Heba did, Heba only have a few muscles on his form.

Atemu's ears were pointed and small spikes ran up his spine at the joints in his spinal cord. His wings were spread out slightly and were bat-like, only alot larger and wider than Heba's. His tail was long and reptilian-like, his legs doggishly shaped and well muscle-toned.

The hands keeping Atemu balanced were clawed and had long claw-like fingers. His toes were dragon-like on his doggish feet. As he stared back up at Heba from where he was crouched, Dylan had to blink in surprise to how more mature he was compared to Heba.

Heba smiled and quickly dashed for the door, his tail whipping out and opening it in a blink as he rushed to his older brother.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Did you call upon me just to observe these two?" Dylan asked, sitting in a lab chair by the glass with Lilith on his leg, his helmet, airtank, and weapons on a table while the Little Sister examined them curiously from a chair by the table.

Charles shook his head, sitting across from Dylan by the glass, "Not entirely...I fear Alfred may be plotting to kidnap them both...and...turn them into the monsters he always wanted them to be..."

Dylan blinked slowly, "Who do you need me if the Thinker has protected you for so long and succeeded?"

Charles sighed helplessly and looked through the glass at Atemu and Heba. The two of them were crouched on the platform facing each other, their tails entwined and their foreheads touching brotherly while their eyes were closed as they felt each other's energy flow. Atemu's soft purr was deeper and more rumbling than Heba's, their tails tightening and loosening every few minutes.

"...I fear Alfred may be planning a war...a war that could destroy us all..." Charles said softly.

Dylan frowned slightly, "...A war...?"

Charles nodded slightly and looked at Dylan sadly, "He's going to be using all the research we've developed together and cause a war...with you and your fellow Sisters. He wants Rapture for himself and you and your Sisters are the only things standing in his way..."

Lilith frowned slightly feeling Dylan tense in anger and she looked back at him worriedly. Dylan stayed silent for a long while, turning his head to the glass. Heba and Atemu were still frozen in their position, but their tails were now swaying freely behind them and their eyes were looking up at Dylan.

"...Tell me a little about them..." Dylan said softly.

"Atemu and Heba are both the result of Project: LEGION...the project was named by Alfred around the time he started splicing behind my back. You were a two-year-old at the time and I was oblivious to his splicing by the time Atemu was concieved by a machine similar to a Vita-Chamber, only it doesn't revive...by imprinting DNA, it can form a full-grown infant just by a fertilized egg being entered into the machine. I used the egg given to me from a science university that I used to work for on the surface and fertilized it myself...then Atemu came to be." Charles said softly.

Dylan looked at him, "...Was he born the way he is now...?"

Charles shook his head, "...When Atemu was born...I planned on raising him as an assistant...but, Alfred had different plans."

Dylan blinked, then looked past Charles at the door after hearing it open. Atemu silently walked into the lab on his doggish legs and crouched beside Charles while swaying his tail calmly. Charles looked over and smiled slightly as he lifted a hand and he ran it along Atem's hair, earning himself a deep, rumbling purr.

Charles' smile slowly faded as he ran the back of his hand along Atemu's cheek fatherly, the hard, mature triangular shape of Atemu's jawline feeling like iron under the warm skin that enveloped the bone underneath, "I did this to him..."

Atemu blinked slowly and closed his eyes as he turned his head into Charles' palm. Charles closed his eyes feeling Atemu's warm lips agains this palm and re-opened them to see Atemu remove his lips from his palm. Dylan blinked watching this, never having had a father-figure in his life, and Lilith tilted her head confusingly.

"...From the time he was a year old, I injected him with gene samples taken from animals on the surface that Alfred had with him...his genetic code was re-arranged and he grew more faster than a normal child. He's only sixteen, yet he has the body and mind of a mature eighteen-year-old..." Charles said softly.

Lilith widened her eyes and looked at Atemu in disbelief. Atemu said nothing still, nor did his facial expression change, and his back slowly straightened as if he was proud of his maturity while his tail still swayed behind him calmly. Dylan blinked and leaned slightly over seeing Heba hiding in the doorway leading down to the chamber.

"Right around the time he was 3, he began showing signs of mutation and he began to have back pains around the time he was 6...two years later, he grew his wings...by age 9, he grew his spikes and claws. At age 11, he became lonely and asked for a sibling, if it was possible. I requested another un-fertilized egg from the university and fertilized it myself once more...then Heba was born..." Charles said.

Heba slowly shuffled into the room on all fours and crouched slowly beside Atemu. Atemu brotherly entwined his tail with Heba's and squeezed it lightly out of attempt to relax his younger sibling. The younger of the duo looked up at his older brother and returned the light squeeze.

Lilith blinked confusingly, "...Uh...if you don't mind me asking...how did you fertilize the eggs yourself?"

Charles blushed faintly and looked to the side while Atemu made an awkward noise and looked the opposite side. Dylan raised an eyebrow questionably at their behavior and said nothing. Heba tilted his head at his older brother and made a curious noise.

"...It's not what you think..." Charles said softly.

(Flashback)

Charles' heavy panting and faint moans were heard in the lab after hours, only a desk lamp shining on the papers on the desk to light the room. The scientist was in his lab chair, bent over with his face a few inches from touching the desk, his face reddened and his face covered in sweat while his body was heavily trembling. Atemu hesitantly appeared from the shadows, an 11-year-old with the body of a 13-year-old, and moved over slowly to Charles' side.

"D-Daddy?" Atemu asked concernly.

"A-Atemu...do...do D-Daddy a favor and get...u-up on the desk for me...q-quickly now...!" Charles panted.

Atemu blinked and quickly did as he was told, crouching on the desk facing Charles.

"V-Very good...n-now...reach down with your tail and hold this for Daddy..." Charles said softly.

Atemu blinked downward and his tail slowly snaked to where it was directed to go, "...Like this, Daddy...?"

Charles nodded slightly and closed his eyes, "Y-Yes...d-don't move it until Daddy tells you to..."

Atemu nodded and kept his tail still. Charles lowered his head as his heavery panting and faint moaning continued and his face reddened once more. The mutated boy continued to watch in curiosity as Charles suddenly began to moan loudly and desperately while he dug his forehead into the desk. This continued for a few minutes until Charles began to tense up and tremble even more.

"A-Atemu...k-keep the beaker...v-very still...!" Charles spoke through his moans.

Atemu nodded slightly, "O-Okay, Daddy..."

Charles continued to moan loudly until he suddenly tensed completly and he lifted his head slightly with a moan of release that was loud enough to make Atemu cringe. His tail began to remble as this happened until it slowed to a stop, Charles panting breathlessly as this happened. He then carefully lifted the white-liquid filled beaker and set it on the desk.

Charles carefully fixed his pants and slowly leaned back in his chair, panting softly as he did so. Atemu tilted his head curiously at the liquid and sniffed at the beaker, then snapped his head away with a look of disgust. Charles chuckled faintly seeing this and patted his leg.

Atemu blinked and carefully situated into Charles' lap, nuzzling into his shoulder. Charles closed his eyes and held Atemu to him gently while running his fingers through Atemu's hair. Atemu purred softly and swayed his tail slowly.

"...Now we can create a brother for you..." Charles said softly.

Atemu smiled and lifted his head to look at Charles excitedly, "R-Really, Daddy?"

Charles smiled and nodded, "We can all be a family now..."

Atemu smiled more and hugged onto Charles tightly. Charles chuckled softly and held Atemu to him gently while staring at the beaker from over Atemu's shoulder.

(End Flashback)

Dylan blinked as Charles ended his tale, then looked over at Lilith who was now sitting sideways in his lap with her heavily blushing face in his shoulder. Atemu was staring down at the floor while faintly blushing and his tail now lay limp on the floor. Heba had his eyes wide while his tail lay flat on the floor beside Atemu's and was blushing heavily.

"...Of course that information is still classified..." Charles said after clearing his throat.

Dylan blinked, "...I don't get why everyone's acting so awkwardly..."

All eyes were suddenly on him, even Lilith's.

Dylan looked at everyone rapidly, "...What...?

Charles blinked, "...Dylan...were you every embaressed about something...or...shy...?"

Dylan blinked, "...Not to my knowledge..."

Atemu and Charles met eyes and had matching raised eyebrows. Heba silently scratched at the back of his pointed ear with his clawed foot. Lilith stared at Dylan for a long while, then gently wrapped her arms around him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"You never even had a girlfriend?" Lilith asked quietly as Dylan tucked the girls into their beds in the dome.

Dylan shook his head as he tucked in the last one, then looked back at her, "...I never really had a love interest...Mom always said that was because I was different..."

Lilith blinked and slowly walked over to his side as he picked up the single Little Sister, "...I don't see why a woman couldn't love you, Dylan."

Dylan blinked as he tucked the Sister in, "Perhaps you're forgetting my glowing eyes and dead-looking skin...plus, my hair isn't necessarily clean and straight."

Lilith giggles softly, "We can fix that...if you want to."

Dylan blinked again as he slowly straightened himself and he gently took her hand into his, "...I trust you."

Lilith smiled slightly and slowly walked with him out of the dome, the light in the dome dimming as they exited. Dylan looked up to the window seeing no one, not even Charles, then slowly followed Lilith back into the metallic room down the hall and blinked as he followed her down the hall to the left of the entrance. Through the slide-open door was a large fountain in the center of a glass-walled room, the outside ocean being clearly visible and giving the room a lighter atmosphere.

Dylan slowly walked over to the fountain and dipped his gloved fingers into the water, staring at his reflection. Lilith slowly walked over to a crooked bench and picked up a bar of soap that happened to be laying there ontop of a pile of abandoned papers typed in Russian. She looked over and blinked seeing Dylan in his trance.

She slowly walked over and looked down at Dylan's reflection, then looked back up at him, "...Dylan...do you want me to help you?"

Dylan was silent for a long while as he kept his eyes on his reflections, "...What life did you have on the surface...?"

Lilith blinked rapidly at his question and frowned slightly, "...D-...Did I say something wrong...?"

Dylan looked at her seriously, "...I still find difficulty understanding how you could trust a monster with your safety..."

Lilith blinked at him, "Why do you keep calling yourself a monster? I don't see one anywhere."

"...Look in the water..." Dylan said softly as he lowered his head.

She did so and slowly dipped her fingers into the water beside his, "I see a victim of cruel fate."

Dylan blinked and looked over at her in confusion.

"You're very kind...you have a strong heart...you're protective of your loved ones. A monster wouldn't care like you do...about anyone." Lilith said softly as she looked at him with watery blue eyes.

Dylan only blinked at her again in response, then looked down as she gently laced her fingers with his under the cold water left to sit. He gently laced his gloved fingers with hers and gave her hand a gentle grip, instantly loosening the grip hearing a faint gasp from Lilith to the telepathic pulse that ran through the both of them. She blinked rapidly at the strange sensation that remained and looked down see Dylan's hand not gripping her hand at all due to her gasp.

"D-Dylan...do that again..." Lilith said softly.

Dylan blinked as he gripped her hand again gently, the telepathic pulse running through them once more and multiplying in intensity the longer he held the contact. Lilith closed her eyes to the pulses and leaned her head back slightly while faintly moaning to the sensation. He blinked at this and watched her curiously as he kept the contact.

"...I was...a German military subject before I came here...the general was...fearful after I began maturing and my powers became violent by the year...my life at the base was full of cells and abuse...then one day, I blacked out after being forcefully injected with something that slowed my heart-rate...this was the day after I survived an execution by electricution..." Lilith said softly.

She then smiled and looked over at him slowly, "...Then I met you with a case of amnesia..."

Dylan blinked again at her story, "...I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It was worth the ride..." she said softly as she raised her hand that was under the water with his to his cheek.

Dylan looked at her for a moment as her cold hand was placed on his cheek and he leaned his head silently against her hand gently while closing his eyes. Lilith smiled slightly seeing this and gently rubbed his cheek.

Dylan purred faintly in response and turned his face slowly into her hand, his cold lips sending a slight chill through her palm upon contact. She stepped closer to him as he did and reached a hand up moving some of his hair out of his face gently. He slowly opened his eyes slightly as she did so and slowly looked at her in the eyes.

She got stuck in his glowing eyes for a long moment of silence before she snapped herself back into reality and slightly smiled, "How about that bath, hm?"

Dylan blinked and nodded slightly as he began un-doing the belts keeping his armor on his body. Lilith slowly walked over by the bench and kept her back to him as he removed his armor. He had left his air-tank and his weapons, along with his helmet, back at Charles' lab, so as soon as he set his armor on the floor, all he had left was the diving suit and boots as well as his gloves.

He slowly un-zipped his suit and let it fall off his shoulders, his chest, arms, and abdomen being well muscle-toned. Scars from being attacked by Splicers and hostile Alpha Series' showed mostly on his chest, around his stomach area, arms, and back. Lilith peaked innocently over her shoulder as the diving suit dropped and she blushed faintly at Dylan's body being more lean and muscular than she had imagined.

Dylan slowly stepped into the fountain after stepping out of his boots and the suit, the water being waist-length high, then sat silently in the cold water. Lilith slowly walked over with the bar of soap and silently stepped in with him, her hair obtaining a watery blue color as well as her eyes. He silently watched her approach from over his shoulder while keeping his back to her.

"Water's colder than you'd expect in a bath." Lilith said as she lowered behind him.

Dylan blinked at her and slowly looked forward, "I don't mind it much..."

Lilith lifted her hand that wasn't holding the coap and an orb of water rose and hovered over Dylan, letting small amounts of water fall onto his head and body that was not protected by the water. Dylan closed his eyes and lowered his head as she did so without a word. She slowly closed her hand as the water orb drained itself and vanished, then she lathered her hands with the bar of soap.

Running her soapy fingers through Dylan's dirty hair, she had to blush at the deep and rumbling purr she received from Dylan upon her doing so. He had his head leaned back so no soap got into his eyes even though they were already peacefully closed and a rumbling purr escaped his throat as his hair was carefully and gently washed. Lilith slowly removed her fingers from his hair once his hair was fully lathered and she dipped er hands into the water to rinse them.

"You can dunk now." Lilith said softly.

Dylan blinked his eyes slowly open, then silently dunked himself in the water and slowly rose back up a minute later. Lilith reached over and ran her fingers carefully through his tangled hair to make sure she didn't miss any dirt particles, then smiled slightly to herself after all she felt was wet hair scented with ocean water and age, just what she'd imagined Dylan's hair would smell like. He purred faintly as she did so and closed his eyes once more.

"...Do you still trust me...?" Lilith asked softly.

Dylan nodded slowly while still purring from the feeling of her fingers in his hair and he stayed silent. Lilith smiled slightly and slowly removed her hand out of his hair, then used both of her hands to slowly remove her dress. She then tossed it gently out of the water and turned back to Dylan's back that was still facing her while having her arms over her breasts.

She picked up the soap and lathered her hands again, then slowly slid her hands onto Dylan's shoulders after setting the soap on the rim of the fountain. He flinched slightly feeling this and quickly relaxed after a few seconds while he purred softly as she ran her hands gently and slowly along his tight shoulders. He shivered slightly as her hands traveled down his back slowly and left a soapy trail down his spine over a long, gash-like scar Dylan had since he was fifteen-years-old.

"You're very sensitive..." Lilith said softly while lathering his back gently.

Dylan opened his eyes slightly while purred abit louder to her lathering, "I-I've never been touched like this before..."

Lilith slowly slid her hands onto his arms and gently lathered them just as gently, "I don't know why you haven't. Surely your mother has bathed you before."

"She has...but, she kept her distance because she wsn't sure I completely forgave her for harming one of my Sisters, so she avoided lathering me as well as you are..." Dylan replied through his softer purrs.

Lilith slowly froze her hands on his arms as she stared at the back of Dylan's neck seeing a thin slash-like scar that looked like it was left by a knife and she curiously leaned forward and she then kissed the scar on the back of his neck gently. Dylan flinched again slightly, then slowly relaxed as she moved to the side of his neck and he moaned faintly as she continued kissing his neck there while his eyes remained closed. She slowly pulled away from his neck while slowly blinking her eyes open after realising what she was doing and she slowly moved away from him while blushing faintly in embaressment.

"S-Sorry..." Lilith said softly.

Dylan blinked his eyes open and slowly looked back at her, his cheeks a dark red as well, "...Don't be..."

Lilith slowly dipped her hands in the water, the water slowly traveling up her arms like a pair of long gloves that reached her elbows and it stayed there as she removed her hands from the water. As she ran her hands slowly along Dylan's shoulders, the water traveled downward along Dylan's back, shoulders, and arms until all the soap was off his body. She then pulled her hands away and the water dripped off her arms until there was none left.

"Turn around." she softly commanded.

Dylan slowly complied and slowly turned towards her obediantly. Lilith lifted her hands again slowly and placed them on his cheeks gently while her eyes met his, a strange sensation building up in her chest. He purred faintly and lifted a hand to hold one of her hands to his cheek.

"...Dylan...how much do you trust me...?" Lilith asked softly.

"I trust you enough to protect you with me life." Dylan replied just as softly.

Lilith gently rubbed his cheek bones with her thumbs, "...I haven't even known you for even three days...and I want to know everything about you..."

Dylan stared into her eyes for a long, silent while, then he lifted his other hand and he lowered her hands slowly from his cheeks, "...I can show you my life...but, I think we should get dried first..."

Lilith smiled slightly and nodded, then blinked rapidly as Dylan picked her up bridal style as he stood up out of the water. He stepped out of the fountain with her in his arms and walked over by a large window looking out at the ocean scenery around them. He then knelt down and sat her down o nthe floor before he moved behind her and he held his hands on either side of her head as his hands began glowing a magma red.

As he ran his hands slowly along her hair, her scalp began feeling soothingly warm as her hair was slowly dried by his actions and she also began to receive visions from Dylan's childhood as well as feeling the emotions he feels whenever he remembers each image. She closed her eyes slowly as she received these visions and slowly re-opened them after they stopped and found herself suddenly standing on the metallic flooring of a glass-walled tunnel while wearing a ghostly white gown. Lilith gasped softly as a hand was placed on her shoulder and she slowly relaxed after seeing Dylan standing beside her while wearing his Big Brother suit and armor, minus his weapons and his helmet.

"Dylan...where are we?" Lilith asked softly. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"...Judging by the environment...this is the day I was born." Dylan replied as he lowered his hand from Lilith's shoulders slowly.

Lilith blinked, then looked over as Big Sister rushed into the tunnel with a crying, fidgeting infant in her arms and the Sister passed by Lilith and Dylan at a rapid speed as if they weren't even there. Dylan gently took a hold of Lilith's hand rushed the Big Sister at sped Lilith could match, only slowing to a walk once they caught up with the Elder Sister as she was walking toward the orphanage Dylan was raised in. The infant in the Big Sister's arms was now giggling and calm and Dylan followed the Big Sister into the orphanage with Lilith following behind him closely.

"Dylan...was that you? The baby." Lilith asked softly.

"I was taken from my mother at birth by Rosemarie's orders...this was when my Sisters were still under her power." Dylan replied as he led Lilith to the room with the bunk-beds and he watched from the doorway as the Big Sister with the infant in her arms moved down the aisle of bunk beds.

The Big Sisters already at the opposite end of the room moved out of the way of their fellow Big Sister and the infant in her arms was laid down on the bottom bunk bed by the oil lamp. The other three gathered around their fellow Sister and the infant's giggles rang through the room as he reached up to the Sister who had brought him here that was still knelt down beside him. The Big Sister held her hand out in front of him like she had done before and he giggled as he took her gloved hand into his much smaller ones. Dylan tensed slightly feeling something being caught in his throat, but he slowly relaxed feeling Lilith's hand rub an aching spot on his chest.

A younger version of Rosemarie approached and went right through both Dylan and Lilith as if they didn't exist, Dylan having to put an arm around Lilith to keep her calm after this happened, and silently approached the Sisters slowly. Over his shoulder, Dylan could see a younger version of Charles and what he guessed to be Alfred, Charles' partner/future-rival, appear from the shadows and both men stood a distance from the entryway. Alfred looked about 28-years-old with dark brown hair neatly combed down, a firm muscular build with broad shoulders, hard facial features, and bright blue eyes.

"Let me see him..." Rosemarie softly spoke, making Dylan turn his attention back to the room.

The still-standing Big Sisters moved slowly out of the way and Rosemarie slowly sat on the bunk bed with the infant still laying on it while covered in a blood-stained sheet wrapped around his body. She gently pulled down the sheet abit to get a better look at the infant and the knelt Big Sister slowly moved her hand away to allow this. The infant was colored a deadly gray with yellow-green glowing eyes. He began to fidget as the Big Sister moved her hand away and whined as Rosemarie examined him.

Rosemarie slowly shook her head, "I knew this whould happen. This infant is a Little One. I told her to take pre-cautions."

The kneeling Big Sister looked up at her silently and Rosemarie slowly stood from the bed.

"We have to get him out of Rapture and somewhere safe...but, I'm afraid I cannot free him from this fate he is to endure until he matures..." she said softly.

The still-kneeling Big Sister looked down at the infant and she gently gathered him into her arms while the standing Big Sisters watched Rosemarie silently.

"We will name him Dylan and raise him here. He will be under your care, since he is more family to you and the Little Ones than his own mother now. I have others I must tend to before the city completely falls to the ocean floor." Rosemarie said, keeping her back to the kneeling Big Sister.

The still kneeling Big Sister gently ran a hand along the infant's head and earned herself a soft giggle from him. Rosemarie smiled slightly at the sound of the giggle and she walked towards the door without a word. The other three Big Sisters gathered as the kneeling Big Sister rose from her position and stood with her fellow Big Sisters as they all looked down at the infant. Two Little Sisters rushed through Lilith and Dylan into the room as the infant gave out a louder giggle to the presence of all the Big sisters and Rosemarie passed through Dylan and Lilith as well to join Charles and Alfred outside the room. Lilith turned her head towards them and she blinked seeing Alfred and Rosemarie lock eyes before they looked at Charles blankly.

"Rosemarie...we can't keep him down here. I know you and Alfred both have plans for this boy...but, I want no part of it." Charles said softly.

"Well, that's quite a shame, Charles. We were looking forward to you working by our side." Alfred said with slight disappointment.

"It's bad enough for him to be separated from his birth-mother. It'll just pile it on if you carry on your plans!" Charles said firmly.

"What will you do about it, Charles. If you feel so strongly about this, then do something." Rosemarie challenged while crossing her arms calmly.

"I'm not going to argue with the two people I have left in my life...just know that Dylan will not answer to you when he discovers your plan for him. Your only solution will be to send him to the surface if not re-unite him with Martha." Charles replied calmly.

Alfred chuckled darkly in amusement and said nothing as he walked off with Rosemarie following him after a few moments. Lilith frowned silently and looked at Dylan to see him staring at Charles compassionately. A Little Sister passed through Dylan with the infant in her arms and she slowly stopped in front of Charles. The scientist looked down at her and slowly knelt down to gather the new born carefully into his arms, then he held the infant carefully to his chest and smiled slightly as the child giggled at his presence. His smile slowly faded after a few moments and he hugged the infant to him protectively.

"...I promise, Dylan...when you grow older, I will show you that you don't need what they offer. You may not understand what I'm saying to you now, but I will distract them from you for as long as I can..." Charles said softly.

He then held out the infant to the Little Sister and she took him carefully into her thin arms while the infant began to squirm and fidget once Charles rose from his knelt position. As Charles walked away into the shadows, the infant in the Little Sister's arms began to cry until an Elder Sister passed through Lilith and knelt down to take the infant into her arms, but the infant didn't relax in her arms. Dylan gently took Lilith's hand and she quickly looked at him and the scene then changed. They appeared in Rosemarie's safe-house just as the Little Sister was slapped by Martha's hand and Rosemarie slowly stood from her chair.

"...I have no heart...Martha?" Rosemarie asked softly as she approached the Little Sister.

The Little Sister slowly stopped crying as Rosemarie placed a motherly hand on her head and Rosemarie slowly and gently rubbed the girl's head for a few moments, then looked at Martha blankly, "Look at this child, Martha. You tell me what she did to deserve that slap."

Martha stared at Rosemarie silently for a awhile, then looked at Little Sister in regret. The Little Sister still had her head lowered, but she was no longer crying and her arms were at her sides.

"How do you expect me to think you will greet him with open arms if you treat this Little One with disgust?" Rosemarie asked while crossing her arms casually.

"Dylan is my son...that's why..." Martha replied softly.

Rosemarie shook her head slowly and put a hand on the back of the Little Sister's neck, "When you treat his Sister's with disgust and hate, Dylan sees this through their eyes and he feels their pain. This will make him hate you..."

"Why him, Rosemarie? Why do you need my son?" Martha asked softly.

Rosemarie looked down at the Little Sister, then looked at Martha, "I told you, Martha. He is part of a family now...if you want him to bond with you, I suggest starting with his Sisters."

Martha looked at the Little Sister and shuddered at the girl's smile, her skin paling even more than it already was.

"She'll be an Angel soon..." the girl said innocently.

The room was suddenly filled with the angry screech of a Big Sister as she appeared in the room and she grunted metallically and angrily at Martha. The Little Sister gasped and quickly hid behind Rosemarie.

"B-Big Sister's angry!" the girl said fearfully.

The Big Sister made a step towards Martha with a deep metallic growl, making Martha quickly back away, and Lilith quickly grabbed Dylan's arm to keep him back just as the Big Sister froze as Rosemarie shouted a command.

"Stop!" Rosemarie commanded firmly.

Martha stared wide-eyed at the armored being in front of her, then looked at Rosemarie quickly before looking back up at the Big Sister. Dylan slowly relaxed beside Lilith and looked at her silently as Lilith put her arms around his arm comfortly.

"Knien!" Rosemarie commanded.

The Big Sister obediently knelt onto the floor, bending her right arm against her chest while her left laid at her side. Martha blinked wide-eyed at this and looked at Rosemarie questionably.

"Blieben sie..." Rosemarie commanded as she slowly walked over to the Big Sister.

The Big Sister stayed frozen in her place, statued in her kneeling position. She made no movement as Rosemarie placed a hand on her helmet. The Little Sister climbed onto the Big Sister's shoulder with a faint giggle and the Sister still made no movement.

"...Y-You said...ten years has gone by...right? Why are these things still around?" Martha asked shakily.

"...Well...as you know...Little Sisters do grow up. Big Sisters too..." Rosemarie replied softly.

"S-so what about the Little Sisters? How are you keeping the numbers up?" Martha asked, a tint of fear in her tone.

"While the extra Burkhards weren't needed for Protectors, I decided to use them for a different purpose..." Rosemarie said softly while putting a hand on the Little One's head.

Martha widened her eyes once more and a chill ran through her spine that made her cringe. Lilith looked at Dylan and blinked seeing his eyes had gone blanky and she silently looked forward again at Rosemarie.

"...Science and ADAM, Martha...go together like protons and neutrons do in an Atom. My mother was involved with the Big Daddies and Little Sisters...but, I took everything she did before she went soft...to a while new level." Rosemarie said softly.

"Once the Big Sisters started becoming older and more aggressive, I began seeing that there might be a use for the extra Burkhards I created from Brute Splicers. I had the adult Sisters all sedated in a medical room in this building here and injected semen samples from the Burkhards into their wombs while they sleep. C-sections had to be performed nine days later, the fetus' fully grown and healthy, all organs and bodily features grown. The infants survived on ADAM provided from their mother's breasts, green, natural ADAM, and grew into children in just months. However, around the age of nine or eight years of age, bodily and mentally-wise, their aging process normals out. These Little Ones are not born with the slug, so I feared for the Gathering Program...they act as normal Little Ones, though, so I am not worried..." she explained softly.

Dylan slowly clenched a fist as she explained the process and Lilith gently rubbed his bicep while staring sympathetically at the Little Sister that was still calmly perched on her Elder Sister's shoulder while Lilith frowned.

Martha blinked in disbelief to what she heard, "So, you...use grown up Big Sisters...for back makers...and their in comas while you use them?"

Rosemarie nodded with a slight smile, "Mmhm...however," Rosemarie's smile faded as quickly as it came, "Every time one of the sleeping mothers produces a boy, the child doesn't survive long enough to take it's first breaths. They die in the womb...that's why I plan on using your son as an experiment when he becomes old enough...it's only for research. Nothing personal."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Dylan gently took Lilith's hand, not able to listen to anymore of what Rosemarie had said in the past without snapping, then the two appeared in a different scenery and Dylan looked around to see them in Triton Cinema. His head turned towards a Burkhard hearing a low whalish groan and blinked seeing a ten-year-old version of him sitting at the burn piano left on the stage while a Burkhard stood a distance from him protectively. The Big Sister from earlier appeared on the shoulder of the Burkhard and the Little Sister quickly and carefully climbed down the Big Sister and the Big Daddy before making her way quickly over to the younger Dylan.

The boy smiled over at her and reached out for her hand that slowly slid into his upon him doing so, "What news have you brought, my Sister?"

The Little Sister frowned and tightened her grip on the boy's hand and he closed his eyes for a silent moment. Dylan watched this while Lilith put a hand over his chest silently as she watched from his side as the boy re-opened his eyes slowly and she could see the all-too-familiar anger inside them in response to the Little Sister's visions.

"...So, my purpose is to be a sperm bank, hm?" the boy asked with a faint growl as he gripped the Little Sister's hand tighter without him knowing.

"B-Brother...y-you're hurting me..." the Little Sister pleased, though she didn't struggle to free her hand from his.

The boy stared forward blankly for a few moments before slowly releasing the Little Sister's hand with a dull smile, then he looked at her, "I won't take orders from a scientist like Rosemarie...and I won't let her abuse my Sisters. Starting now...this...will my main purpose to my Sisters..."

As he spoke, the boy gingerly took the Little Sister's hand again and stared at it for awhile before he looked back up at the owner of the hand. He then slowly raised his other hand after pulling her gently to where she was abit closer to him and he gently placed his hand on er head, his hand glowing brightly as her vision slowly turned white. After this, Dylan took Lilith's hand gently and Lilith gasped as her eyes snapped open after she blinked and looked around quickly as both her and Dylan were back in reality and she looked back at Dylan to see him looking at her while sitting beside her. Lilith said nothing as she stared at him for a long while, then she quickly moved onto his lap and put her arms quickly around him while she dug her face into his shoulder.

Dylan blinked rapidly and put his arms around her gently to hold her against him, his hands moving slowly along her back and stopping in the middle while her emotions of sadness and want to comfort him ran through his system. Lilith stayed silent and still in his arms while she clung to him tightly for a few moments and slowly lifted her head slightly feeling his hands on her back that rested in the center of her back. She blushed faintly as his cold touch send slight sparks of electricity through her and she nuzzled deeply into his shoulder to try and get her thoughts off of it. He stared over her shoulder at the ocean while her emotions shifted from sadness and wanting to comfort to something the complete opposite and he slowly slid his hands up to her shoulder blades while trying to keep himself calm since she was so close to him while in his lap and...they were both still naked.

Lilith quickly lifted her head feeling something poke against her...she went completely red and quickly moved off of his lap and winced slightly as her back quickly hit the window. Dylan kept himself up by putting his hands on the floor and he lent forward abit while lowering his head slightly while closing his eyes to calm his nerves. She stared at him for a moment and looked up from him to what had poked her before looking back up at him while still blushing terribly, then she slowly crawled over to him and reached out to slide her hand along his cheek slowly. He slowly looked up at her once his thoughts were clear and his nerves were calm and the two locked eyes for awhile silently.

Shock and embarrassment was slowly replaced by something she'd felt since the travel to Minerva's Den and had tried to bury deep in her core, for fear that he'd reject her like the ones who she thought would protect her on the surface. Dylan slowly lifted a hand and lightly brushed his fingertips down her jawline slowly without a word while he showed slight hesitance in his eyes from lack of experience. Lilith swallowed nervously as she slowly moved back onto his lap and he tensed slightly before slowly relaxing while putting his right hand on her left thigh. She stayed sitting on his lap while they kept the eye contact for awhile longer and in silence before Lilith broke the stillness as she leaned forward and placed her forehead gently against his while still looking into his glowing eyes with her pink ones.

"Dylan...can I tell you something...?" Lilith asked softly.

"What is it?" Dylan replied just as softly.

"I've never met anyone like you...and I probably never will find anyone else like you for as long as I live. I want to see the world through your eyes...I want to feel what you feel...when this is all over, I want you to teach me. I also want to know what it feels like to be in your arms. I want to recognise your touch." she said softly.

Dylan blinked slowly at her words, "...Can I tell you something...?"

Lilith nodded slightly, "Mmhm..."

"I've never met anyone like you either. For ten years, my purpose was unknown to me...for eight years I tried to shape my purpose into what I wanted it to be...just yesterday, I met you...and I've been feeling things that I thought I never would feel because I'm not normal..." Dylan said.

Lilith smiled slowly, "...To me, you're normal. Not on the outside maybe...but, on the inside...your just like a human."

"...As for your wanting to see the world through my eyes...I promise to teach you...after I help you find out what it feels like to be in my arms..." Dylan said softly.

Lilith smiled abit more before Dylan made gentle lip contact with her's and she felt a shock of electricity quickly go through her system without him having to deepen the light kiss while her eyes slowly closed and a slight shiver raked through her before she could cease it. She deepened the kiss slightly while her arms snaked slowly around his neck while his hands held her back gently to keep her close and he tilted his head slightly to the side as he returned the deepened kiss with a faint groan that he tried to hide in the pit of his throat. Lilith slid her tongue slowly along his bottom lip lightly to request entrance and Dylan tensed every muscle in his body at this before slowly relaxing while hesitantly parting his lips to allow Lilith entrance into his cavern which she slowly took advantage of as she explored with her tongue expertly. Her tongue met his and she teasingly rolled hers around the tip of his slowly to beckon it to play before his tongue slid along hers while she moaned faintly as she felt Dylan's tongue quickly take dominance as if he instantly knew what he was doing.

Their tongues danced with one another passionately for a few moments with Dylan's remaining dominant in their deep and slow kiss and Lilith slowly pushed Dylan down onto the floor with her on top of him without breaking their kiss. He obediently complied while not breaking the kiss and he panted softly as Lilith slowly broke their kiss a few seconds later after he was completely laid down, then watched her slowly sit up on top of him and the two locked eyes once more while Dylan took in how the blue ocean light behind her gave her a shadowy, yet beautiful, appearance from where he was laying. She smiled slightly and ran a hand slowly up his abdomen and up his chest before it slowly snaked back down towards over the area she was sitting over. Dylan shivered underneath her and faintly growled in his throat and Lilith giggled faintly while she slowly bent down and kissed him again gently, this time apologetically.

"You're not very nice..." Dylan said softly after she broke the kiss.

Lilith gently petted his head while keeping her face a few inches from his and stared into his eyes the whole time, "I promise, no more teasing..."

"Good." Dylan replied before he slowly switched positions with her to where he was ontop of her.

A few moments went by before the room was filled with the soft moans of the two beings by the window and faint pants were blended in with their soft moans of pleasure. Minutes passed and the moans became unisonly louder while the faint panting became louder as well and more minutes passed before the louder moans became even louder and their pantings became almost animal-like in their binding of passions. Even more minutes passed and the loud moans became screams of pleasure and the pantings became silent as only the screams filled the room and echoed against the walls that whispered nothing of their binding on the outside. This continued for minutes that seemed to drag on like hours before loud cries filled the room, cries of release that shook the walls of the room around them and ceased only seconds later as faint gasps from both of them followed quickly and soon the hard and loud pantings of both lovers were all that was heard in the room.

[A few hours later...]

Lilith shifted slightly with a faint blissful sigh as her hand slid along the floor to search for Dylan who she thought was beside her and her eyes slowly blinked open to see Dylan standing by the window in his diving suit and armor while she had her dress laying over her for a blanket. She said nothing that would make him turn his head to her as she examined Dylan in the light from the outside ocean and her smile slowly faded into a dream-like look as she took in how the shadows gave him a darker appearance than what he would normally give off. The blue light coming in from the outside of the glass while Dylan was leaned against a statue reaching the ceiling of Neptune, the Greek God of the Seas, gave him the pure appearance Lilith saw from the first day she met him while the shadows that resulted on the other side of his body gave him a darker appearance and his eye glowed more brightly on that side. The darker half of what she's seeing reminded her of how he always thinks of himself negatively and the darkness he hides within.

Dylan blinked slowly and turned his head toward Lilith hearing her slowly shuffle to her feet and blinked as he watched her slowly approach while holding the dress to her body to keep herself from being exposed. She laid her head on his shoulder and pressed herself into his chest while his arms snaked around her slowly to hold her against his cold, yet welcoming body. Lilith looked out at the ocean as they stayed like that in silence and she listened to his un-even heartbeat that skipped and stopped itself every few seconds before resuming it's beating that had no rhythm nor did it seem that it was working any less than a normal human heart. She slowly closed her eyes and turned her head slowly so that her lips were pressed to the hard leather of his armor over the rough material that made his diving suit.

"Is everything alright?" Dylan asked softly.

"Mmhm..." Lilith said with a slight nod against his chest.

Dylan blinked slowly at her response and gently ran his gloved fingers through her white hair while she smiled and sighed peacefully as he did so as her eyes remained closed. He gently gripped her hair to pull her head gently back from his chest so she could look up at him and he leaned down to kiss her lips gently while his hands gently took her dress. He broke the kiss momentarilly to gently place it back on her body before resuming their gentle kiss and his hands slid to her sides slowly while her arms snaked around his neck gently. She deepened the kiss slightly after a few seconds and he purred faintly as she did so while his hands lovingly stroked her sides.

"SECURITY BREACH IN MAIN LOBBY. SECURITY BREACH IN MAIN LOBBY. DEPLOYING SECURITY BOTS AND EMERGENCY BIG DADDY SECURITY. ALL SECURITY SYSTEMS NOW ALERT." the Thinker announced warningly over the intercom, making both Dylan and Lilith break their kiss.

"Come on..." Dylan said softly while taking her hand and he rushed with her out of the fountain room and down the hall towards Charles' lab while Security Bots flew overhead of them both from the opening double doors.

Inside the Dome Room, Charles was waiting at the top of the stairs while Atemu gently huddled the girls up the staircase and Heba scurried over to Dylan with his weapons and his helmet. Dylan nodded in thanks as he silently took them and he strapped his weapons to his arms while Lilith carefully placed his helmet onto his head and the two locked eyes through his porthole that glowed a bright green. She smiled and leaned forward slowly to kiss the glass of his porthole before she gently put her hands on the weapon that Dylan hadn't finished tightly strapping to his arm and she pulled the belts tight while he watched her do so. The two met eyes again before turning their heads as Charles approached and Dylan slowly turned towards the scientist, then looked down as Charles held out a small map and Dylan took it gently.

"Use this to find your way back if you get lost. I have a feeling you want to see what the commotion is all about, but be careful...it's Alfred. I know it is." Charles said softly.

"Good...gives me more of a reason to help out your security..." Dylan replied before slowly turning and he walked out of the room with Lilith following behind him closely.

The two laced their hands together once in the hallway and they ran together halfway further down the hall before Dylan gently pulled her onto his back and she clung to him tightly as he continued speeding down the hallway while he followed the Security Bots to where they were instructed to go.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Dylan slowed to a stop in the first lobby he entered in Minerva's Den and was met with the flashes of bullets fired by the Security Bots and Non-Hostile Alpha Series with large machine guns as they fired towards a shadowy figure that was scurrying on the pipes against the ceiling with un-human cackles that echoed in the room. Lilith quickly and carefully set herself on the floor and looked up at the pipes only able to see the shadow of what the bots and the Protectors were trying to hit, then she looked over as Dylan slowly walked forward and she quickly followed him. He held up his left arm and a spear gun appeared, fully-loaded, on his arm before he released a Rocket Spear after aiming towards a pipe that the scurrying creature was heading to and water bursted from the collision as the pipe collapsed onto the ground and a loud thud was heard on the floor while water continued to rush down in a water-fall like motion. The Alpha Series' slowly lowered their weapons as they waited for something to leap out of the waterfall Dylan had formed and the Bots hovered in the air mindlessly while waiting for an enemy to shoot at.

Lilith watched from behind Dylan silently, then her eyes darted behind her before her head followed and she looked behind her after hearing scurrying in the shadows. Dylan looked back at her and looked beyond her to the shadows before silently tapping an Alpha on the shoulder to get him to turn towards where Dylan was looking and the large Protector turned on the flash-light above the porthole of his helmet and slowly looked around in the shadows. Dylan followed the light slowly with his eyes until a shadowed creature darted from the light's view near the front desk and he narrowed his eyes while putting a hand out to Lilith to keep her back while he slowly creeped towards the desk. A dopple-ganger of Heba leaped out and onto Dylan with a loud un-human sound of amusement and he looked down at Dylan while pinning the Big Brother to the floor, the only difference between him and Heba being the crimson scorpion painted on the dopple-ganger's face on the right side.

Lilith forced the dopple-ganger off of Dylan by blasting a large stream of water at him and this sent the doppleganger against the wall and at the mercy of the Security Bots as he fled with a loud hiss. Dylan rushed to his feet and dashed after the creature in an angered dash while Lilith kept up with him easily while staying behind him as she followed him down the corridor with the Security Bots hovering overhead in a herd. The dopple-ganger hissed as he quickly climbed onto the wall and quickly scurried along it before leaping through a pair of slide-open doors into a dark room with a sound of amusement. Dylan skidded to a stop a distance from the double doors with Lilith stopping behind him and he looked up to see the Security Bots had frozen in their tracks, as if something signalled them to keep a distance from the doors.

"Dylan...sh-should we follow him?" Lilith asked softly.

"We have to...we can't let him run around and cause anymore trouble. It's not Alfred, but he might be working for him..." Dylan replied as he slowly walked towards the double-doors.

Lilith followed him slowly and looked back to see the Security bots forming a line of pairs behind her to prepare to follow as her and Dylan entered through the double doors. The inside of the room was dark and pitch-black, so Dylan's helmet was the only light in the room, other than the eye-looking portholes on the bots and the lights on their propellars, and Lilith took a hold of Dylan's hand gently to make sure she stayed close to him as they continued further into the room. Once they were in the center of the room, the bots let out whirring sounds as they suddenly dropped to the ground one-by-one and the lights on their propellars shut off as well as their portholes and Dylan and Lilith watched this before looking at each other before looking back over as three non-hostile Alpha Series Big Daddies entered the room while carrying firearms, as if they'd sensed that their first line of back-up had shut off. Dylan looked at Lilith silently before he moved even further into the room with Lilith at his side and the Alpha Series' walking behind them in a protective manner.

The doors suddenly locked themselves as the lights in the room switched on one-by-one and reveiled a large corridor that seemed endless. As Dylan and Lilith decended down the hall, the Alpha Series began to groan painfully as if something inside their helmets were causing them all pain as they continued slugging along behind the pair and Lilith occasionally looked back to see an Alpha Series helping his brethern continue on by pushing him ahead of himself. Dylan stopped suddenly and looked back hearing one of them collapse and the other two collapsed to their knees with painful groans and he looked at Lilith in confusion. Lilith frowned and shook her head to show that she had no idea what was happening to the Alpha Series' and Dylan looked at the Alphas before silently continuing down the corridor.

"Maybe it's something in the air..." Lilith said softly.

"Whatever it is, it made the Bots shut down without orders to do so too." Dylan replied.

Lilith nodded and looked back again to see all three Alphas lying on the ground before she slowly looked forward with a deeper frown as they continued down the corridor until they reached metallic double doors painted crimson. Dylan looked around cautiously for some kind of trap to spring out upon them standing in front of the door and hesitantly released Lilith's hand to try and feel the door for a handle or some kind of trigger to get it open while she kept watch for any Splicers or Hostile Big Daddies that might come their way. Both tensed hearing a familiur sound of amusement and Dylan snapped his head up just in time to see the Heba dopple-ganger leap down onto him and force him to the ground while Lilith was tangled in the long, reptile-like tail of an Atemu dopple-ganger that appeared out of the wall behind her in a shadow-like fog and he hovered behind her with a deadly grin on his face. Both dopple-gangers bared a crimson scorpion on the sides of their faces, only Atemu's was on the left side of his face while Heba's was on his right, and both dopple-gangers had the same look of wickedness and dark intention in their matching crimson eyes and in their grins.

The Heba dopple-ganger knocked Dylan's helmet off his head with a quick movement of his tail and made a sound of amusement while he tilted his head mockingly, as if he dared Dylan to try and use a plasmid on him while his tail traced a heart over Dylan's armor in the exact spot where Dylan's heart was underneath the leather, diving-suit material, and even under his skin and everything else underneath. The 18-year-old Big Brother tensed and hesitated and the Heba look-alike made a laughing sound while pushing himself off Dylan and into the shadows around the ceiling. Dylan grunted and quickly stood to his feet before the dopple-ganger appeared from the wall behind him and Dylan let out a loud groan of pain as the Heba look-alike clawed at Dylan's back and left deep gashes in his wake that quickly began to bleed heavily on his armor. Lilith tried to call out his name until the Atemu look-alike firmly pulled a white cloth over her mouth and gripped it tight against her mouth by pulling back on the ends while the Heba look-alike made laughing sounds while hovering in the air over Dylan while the Big Brother was on his knees on the floor as his back bled pure natural ADAM.

Dylan suddenly snapped his head up and his arms glowed a bright inferno red before he quickly rose to his feet and the next thing Lilith knew the Heba dopple-ganger was consumed in a violent inferno that sprang itself free from Dylan's entire arm while a loud screech of pain was heard through the corridor. The Atemu dopple-ganger dropped Lilith and moved to sink into the wall before being quickly frozen in place by a Winter Blast move by Dylan's other arm while his brother fell to the ground motionless and steaming heavily. Lilith slowly put a hand over her nose and mouth area to keep the stench of rotting flesh out of her system while she looked worriedly up at Dylan before her hand slowly dropped as a look of both shock and slight fear filled her eyes and developed on her face. Dylan's right arm glowed a magma red while his left arm glowed a winter blue while giving off frost while his right arm gave off bright orange embers, his back was slowly healing itself, and his eyes were a brighter yellowish-green than before with a tint of crimson around where his pupils would be if his eyes were that of a normal human.

Dylan silently walked past her to the frozen dopple-ganger and grunted loudly as he shattered the iced-over Atemu look-alike with a clenched fist which made Lilith jump slightly and close her eyes for a few seconds before she re-opened them. She shakily forced herself to her feet and slowly made her way over to Dylan while the Big Brother kept his back to her with his head slightly lowered while his arms slowly returned to normal. He slowly met her eyes after she was fully standing in front of him and blinked slowly seeing all the fear in her eyes gone and instead he found love and concern in her bright pink eyes as they stared back into his in-human ones. His face was a darker gray and she had to fight herself not to pull her hand away when it met his skin to find that it was even colder than corpse while he lifted a gloved hand to hold her hand there against his cheek for some kind of warmth.

"...Dylan...?" Lilith asked softly.

Dylan silently blinked in response to his name and Lilith frowned concernly at his silence. She gently used her other hand and rubbed his other cheek that wasn't already occupied while pondering on how she could turn Dylan back to his normal self, for she knew this was someone completly different than the Big Brother who had stolen her heart. This side of Dylan was something, she guessed, that even Martha had never seen and it was a side of him that, only Dylan knew, he had hidden for years as he matured and began his duty to protect Rapture and those like him and those he cared about. The look in his eyes showed determination and coldness towards his enemies while the eyes she knew as Dylan's showed warmth and careness.

She bit her lip as an idea came to her mind and she freed her lip from her teeth as she slowly leaned up and pressed her lips against Dylan's, receiving no response for the first three seconds until he slowly kissed back just as gently as she had claimed his while warmth returned to his entire body. Lilith kept her eyes open slightly to see Dylan's skin lighten in tone and his eyes slowly dim while the crimson tint vanished just as he closed his eyes to deepen the kiss and her eyes slowly closed as she felt his loving arms wrap around her waist protectively. He slowly broke the kiss after a few seconds and she smiled once her eyes slowly opened as she saw the warmth had returned in his eyes as he smiled back at her slightly and she looked at her left hand to see that both of her hands were gently resting on his biceps. The coolness of the leather on both arms was a relief compared to the coldness she had felt after touching Dylan's cheek after he had done away with the dopple-gangers and she met his eyes quickly at the memory only to relax slowly as she saw him staring at her with the same warmth that had drawn her into his arms in the first place.

"...Lilith...?" Dylan said softly.

"Yes, Dylan?" Lilith replied.

"Don't tell my mother what you saw...even though I only promised to hurt...if they hurt me first...I still don't want her to know about this. She didn't say anything about the Alphas, but that was different than now." Dylan said softly.

"Dylan, what happened? You changed into a totally different person just now...you scared me..." Lilith said while rubbing his biceps gently.

Dylan turned his head as the crimson door slowly slid open, then looked at her, "...I'll explain it on the way..."

Lilith nodded slightly and slowly lowered her hands from his arms as his arms left her waist and she took his offered hand before she walked alongside him through the doorway. Dylan was silent all the way and she felt him tense as the crimon door closed behind them with a loud thundering boom before the lights above them switched on to reveil that they were once again in another large corridor that also seemed endless, only this one had doors on each side of the corridor. She gently squeezed his hand while her other hand rested on his arm before they continued their walk down the corridor and she let her curiosity get the best of her and she glanced through the windows in the doors as they passed each one and she began to get a sick feeling in her stomach. Each room she saw had large machines in them filled with a bright green liquid that glowed in the darkness and each one had a human-looking figure in a fetal position inside them while the figure was connected to life support by wires that was patched to the caucassion skin of each figure.

That wasn't the part that bothered her the most. The part that bothered her about what she saw was the fact that each figure bore a resemblance to Dylan, but each one had a mutation, be it wings, claws, a tail, fins, anything that she could predict they had an animal-like mutation. Each one had closed eyes and she barely could see the monitors on each machine. Occasionally she saw one being attended to by a female in a white nurse outfit with a doctor's mask over her face and large goggles with gloves on her hands and each attendant usually carried a clipboard.

"...Dylan..." Lilith said shakily.

"Don't remind me, Lilith. I don't like what I'm seeing either." Dylan replied softly as he returned the squeeze on her hand while struggling to look forward and away from the windows.

"Dylan, you need to tell me what happened back there, because right now I'm worried and I'm scared and I think this has something to do with what happened back there...!" Lilith said softly and shakily while looking up at him sternly.

"...This has nothing to do with what happened...I know what's happening..." Dylan replied softly. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fifteen

Dylan and Lilith walked together hand-in-hand through the door and looked around to see that they were in a dark room with large capsule-like machines containing dopple-gangers of Atemu on one side and Heba on the other while they slept in a fetal positions as they hovered in a bright-green colored liquid with patches on various areas of their bodies that connected to the machine. Each dopple-ganger had a red scorpion inked somewhere on their bodies and each one looked exactly like Atemu and Heba with no deformities or mutations added to their appearance, meaning they looked like exact copies. The couple slowly walked cautiously down the walkway and Dylan looked at the Atemu dopple-gangers as if expecting them to awaken at any second while Lilith kept her focus on the Heba dopple-gangers with the same expectation. Dylan froze in his walk seeing one of the Atemu dopple-gangers twitch in his sleep and waited for a few seconds before he relaxed after seeing the Atemu dopple-ganger remain sleeping and he looked at Lilith reassuringly as they kept walking their way towards the pair of double-doors at the end of the walkway.

The doors slowly opened on their own accord upon Dylan and Lilith reaching them and they slowly stepped inside to see that they were in a large cude-like area with glass walls and ceiling and metallic flooring, a balcony over-looking them with a pair of double-doors behind a metallic railing and a pair of double-doors at the very end of the area. The doors behind them quickly closed and locked themselves while Alfred's dark chuckles were heard echoing around them and Lilith gripped Dylan's hand abit tighter out of anticipation while both looked around quickly for the source before the double-doors behind the balcony railing slowly opened. A man slowly stepped out onto the balcony in a white lab coat, black under-shirt that was button-up and collared, black pants, and black boots along with a disfigured face. His right eye was lower than his left, his teeth were dark and fang-like and also visible between his high positioned lips that also bared his gums, his hair thin and combed to the side, his ears a horrific shape, his forehead wide and bumpy as if his skull had been rearranged due to an accident, and his chin was low and flat while his fingers were pointed at the ends to represent claws.

"Welcome, Dylan and Lilith. I trust your trip here was...enjoyable?" Alfred asked playfully before he bursted out laughing in a maniac manner.

"Get down here, you coward!" Dylan growled angrily while his eyes began to glow brighter.

"All in due time, boy, " Alred said while faking a Southern accent for no reason, "but, while you wait, I got someone who's been dyin' to meet ya."

Dylan was about to question this until a loud, angry roar filled with dark rage shook the room with it's intensity and Alfred's cat grin slowly grew as he pointed downward for Dylan's eyes to look at the double-doors opening slowly at the end of the area as two Atemu dopple-gangers walked into the room while struggling to keep a Dylan dopple-ganger walking straight while the clone struggled in his straight-jacket with angry and dark growls of pure hate and anger. Lilith put a hand over her mouth and Dylan froze in his stance, the dopple-ganger having metallic armor instead of leather, bright glowing eyes, dark gray skin, a metallic muzzle on his face, and a red tint where his pupils would be if his eyes were normal. The Atemu clones unhooked the straight jacket and pulled it off the Dylan dopple-ganger before rushing out of the area as the clone let his metallic extensions that represented swords shoot out from both of his arms while he glared angrily at Dylan from where he stood. His teeth were fanged instead of looking normal like Dylan's and the leather underneath the metallic chest, back, thigh, shin, and arm plates as well as under the shoulder guards and metallic boots looked rougher than the leather Dylan wore underneath his leather chest, back, arm, thigh, shin, and arm plates along with his metallic shoulder guards and metallic boots.

"You see, Dylan...if I can't have you on my side...I have someone to replace you. Your dark side that you tried to contain all those years ago. Dylan, meet the King of Rapture himself, or at least his copy. This is what you need to face in order to come to terms with yourself and who you really are on the inside, you s***!" Alfred said sternly.

The King of Rapture dopple-ganger let out an angry roar at Dylan and it shook the area around him as well as Dylan to the core. Dylan gently pushed Lilith to the side and the King of Rapture dopple-ganger rushed at him with angry speed and Dylan got into a defensive stance before he was harshly sent into the double-doors behind him with a loud grunt from the impact. She closed her eyes tightly at the sound of the impact and slowly opened them to see Dylan quickly regain himself before the two opposites collided and a loud metallic sound rang through the area as their metallic extensions met and clashed against one another with sparks flying in both of their faces before they each pushed against one another. This sent both of them skidding on the floor in different directions while still facing each other and the two instantly rushed at each other once more only to clash their metallic extensions once more and another metallic sound rang while sparks flashed in their eyes once more.

"Why don't you except your destiny, Dylan? I'm all you've got!" the King of Rapture copy said in Dylan's voice that was mixed with a metallic one.

"Because I'm nothing like you!" Dylan replied with a growl before pushing harshly against his opposite's dopple-ganger and he sent the King of Rapture copy skidding on the floor away from him.

The King of Rapture copy chuckled darkly, "Oh really? I think you need to look in the mirror sometime, Dylan. You and I are indeed opposites. But as far as our differences go, you and I are more alike than you realise. And your denial of this will lead to your demise whether you like it or not."

"Stop talking and come at me, you b******!" Dylan grunted.

"As you wish!" the King of Rapture copy snarled as he quickly held both hands out in front of him and released a large stream of Incinerate! flames that shot out from both arms.

Dylan quickly did the same and the flames met and pushed against one another with the owner's glaring at one another over the collision. He closed his eyes tightly as he put more power into his Incinerate! flame streams and they began to slowly overpower the King of Rapture dopple-ganger's until the dopple-ganger narrowed his eyes as he noticed this and he began to do the same. The dopple-ganger's flame streams began to overpower Dylan's more quickly than Dylan's had and Dylan opened his eyes slightly as he continued to push back until two pale hands were placed on his shoulders and he looked over behind him to see Lilith as she smiled at him encouragingly while she slowly slid her hands into the flames that streamed from both of his arms and closed her eyes as her red slowly turned fire red. The flame streams that Dylan had control of grew larger and quickly overpowered the King of Rapture dopple-ganger's before the copy could catch it and the dopple-ganger was sent harshly against the glass with large burn marks on his metallic armor and his exposed face.

The King of Rapture dopple-ganger slowly grinned while his head hung low, "...You think this is over, Dylan? Just because your girlfriend gave you a little boost?"

Dylan suddenly grabbed the dopple-ganger by the throat and held the dopple-ganger up in the air against the glass while harshly gripped his throat while his eyes glowed just as brightly as the dopple-ganger's and his skin was just as dark, "Why don't you keep your comments to yourself?"

"You see? Look at yourself for a moment, Dylan. See what you've become on the inside?" the King of Rapture dopple-ganger said calmly.

Dylan blinked slowly and looked over at the glass to look at his reflection.

"As long as I live inside you...you'll always be with me and I with you. You'll always be the same as me. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, because deep in your gut you know this to be true. Even if you kill me, the copy, you still can't escape your destiny. No matter how many people you save. No matter what city you shape. No matter how much you love Lilith or Martha. You. Can't. Escape!" the dopple-ganger growled before he harshly kicked Dylan in the chest and away from him.

Dylan grunted as he hit the ground on his back and glared up at the dopple-ganger as he quickly moved ontop of him with his clawed hands gripping Dylan's throat harshly. The King of Rapture copy gripped harshly for a few seconds before a large lightning strike hit his face and sent him backwards with a loud grunt, then Dylan quickly sat up and looked back to see Lilith gripping a loose wire in the wall by the double-doors that they used to enter the area with really bright blue hair and eyes and her hand extended. Dylan then looked forward and quickly stood to back away as the King of Rapture dopple-ganger slowly got to his feet while holding the right side of his face before the copy slowly lowered his hand and revealed that Lilith had not only hit the right side of his face, but his right eye as well. The dopple-ganger glared quickly at Lilith and made a dash for her before Dylan could stop him and Lilith narrowed her eyes before releasing another lightning strike, this time to his chest, and this sent the King of Rapture copy skidding on his back on the floor with a large steaming spot on his metallic armor.

He then quickly opened his eyes and Lilith was consumed in a large Winter Blast that bursted from the floor and froze her solid where she stood before he slowly got to his feet as Dylan rushed over to her. The two males met eyes angrily and the dopple-ganger released a Winter Blast stream from his right arm at Dylan, who quickly dodged it, and Dylan responded with an Electro Bolt ball that he released from his palm to stun the dopple-ganger long enough to make a dash at him that sent the King of Rapture copy back to the floor. Dylan released another Electro Bolt ball from his right hand and the dopple-ganger quickly rolled to dodge it and quickly got to his feet before the two collided and their metallic extensions clashed and sent a metallic sound ringing through the area as sparks flew. The dopple-ganger pushed and rammed Dylan's back into the glass while Dylan grunted loudly from the impact before pushing back against the dopple-ganger and the two finally pushed one another away from each other and skid to a stop on opposite sides of the area.

"Why don't you just give up?" the dopple-ganger growled.

"Because...if I let you win, Alfred wins...and that'd mean everything I've done up to this point would've been in vain. I'm not letting that happen!" Dylan growled back before he rushed at the King of Rapture copy.

The dopple-ganger snarled and rushed at Dylan as well and swung one of his metallic extension, only to have it blocked before Dylan made a swipe on the dopple-ganger's armor and only ended up scratching it. The King of Rapture copy harshly sent his arm sideways against Dylan's abdomen hard enough to make Dylan grunt loudly and cough up a little blood before the dopple-ganger kicked him hard in the side, hard enough to send Dylan sideways onto the floor. Dylan shakily pushed himself up with his left arm and opened his eyes as a metallic boot stomped itself to a stop in front of him and he slowly looked up at the owner with glaring eyes. The dopple-ganger glared back before he kicked Dylan harshly in the abdomen to make Dylan loudly grunt and the Big Brother coughed up more blood than he had with the first impact and he held his abdomen while cursing faintly into the floor.

"Any last words before I end your life, you pathetic excuse for a hero?" the dopple-ganger hissed.

Dylan slowly opened his eyes and slowly looked over past the dopple-ganger, then slowly up at him with a faint grin, "...Yeah..."teamwork.""

The King of Rapture dopple-ganger frowned in confusion at Dylan's words and quickly looked behind him to see Lilith freed from her prison with icy blue hair and eyes before Dylan quickly stood and Lilith gripped onto the wire again before the both of them released blasts of bright-lighted electricity that lit up the entire area as the King of Rapture dopple-ganger let out a loud echoing cry as he was hit was the intense blast. His metallic armor slowly broke apart as the blast continued and he collapsed to the ground as the area slowly dimmed once the blast was dis-continued, the dopple-ganger steaming heavily and wreaking of fried flesh from being so heavily electrocuted. Dylan panted softly out of exhaustion as he collapsed to one knee and Lilith slowly walked over to him as her hair and eyes returned to normal before she collapsed onto her knees beside him with her arms quickly going around him. He closed his eyes and gently put his arms around her to hold her tightly against him while she panted softly along with him from exhaustion.

Dylan then opened his eyes and glared coldly up at Alfred, who was stunned with his fear, "You're next, Alfred!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Dylan and Lilith walked together hand-in-hand through the door and looked around to see that they were in a dark room with large capsule-like machines containing dopple-gangers of Atemu on one side and Heba on the other while they slept in a fetal positions as they hovered in a bright-green colored liquid with patches on various areas of their bodies that connected to the machine. Each dopple-ganger had a red scorpion inked somewhere on their bodies and each one looked exactly like Atemu and Heba with no deformities or mutations added to their appearance, meaning they looked like exact copies. The couple slowly walked cautiously down the walkway and Dylan looked at the Atemu dopple-gangers as if expecting them to awaken at any second while Lilith kept her focus on the Heba dopple-gangers with the same expectation. Dylan froze in his walk seeing one of the Atemu dopple-gangers twitch in his sleep and waited for a few seconds before he relaxed after seeing the Atemu dopple-ganger remain sleeping and he looked at Lilith reassuringly as they kept walking their way towards the pair of double-doors at the end of the walkway.

The doors slowly opened on their own accord upon Dylan and Lilith reaching them and they slowly stepped inside to see that they were in a large cude-like area with glass walls and ceiling and metallic flooring, a balcony over-looking them with a pair of double-doors behind a metallic railing and a pair of double-doors at the very end of the area. The doors behind them quickly closed and locked themselves while Alfred's dark chuckles were heard echoing around them and Lilith gripped Dylan's hand abit tighter out of anticipation while both looked around quickly for the source before the double-doors behind the balcony railing slowly opened. A man slowly stepped out onto the balcony in a white lab coat, black under-shirt that was button-up and collared, black pants, and black boots along with a disfigured face. His right eye was lower than his left, his teeth were dark and fang-like and also visible between his high positioned lips that also bared his gums, his hair thin and combed to the side, his ears a horrific shape, his forehead wide and bumpy as if his skull had been rearranged due to an accident, and his chin was low and flat while his fingers were pointed at the ends to represent claws.

"Welcome, Dylan and Lilith. I trust your trip here was...enjoyable?" Alfred asked playfully before he bursted out laughing in a maniac manner.

"Get down here, you coward!" Dylan growled angrily while his eyes began to glow brighter.

"All in due time, boy, " Alred said while faking a Southern accent for no reason, "but, while you wait, I got someone who's been dyin' to meet ya."

Dylan was about to question this until a loud, angry roar filled with dark rage shook the room with it's intensity and Alfred's cat grin slowly grew as he pointed downward for Dylan's eyes to look at the double-doors opening slowly at the end of the area as two Atemu dopple-gangers walked into the room while struggling to keep a Dylan dopple-ganger walking straight while the clone struggled in his straight-jacket with angry and dark growls of pure hate and anger. Lilith put a hand over her mouth and Dylan froze in his stance, the dopple-ganger having metallic armor instead of leather, bright glowing eyes, dark gray skin, a metallic muzzle on his face, and a red tint where his pupils would be if his eyes were normal. The Atemu clones unhooked the straight jacket and pulled it off the Dylan dopple-ganger before rushing out of the area as the clone let his metallic extensions that represented swords shoot out from both of his arms while he glared angrily at Dylan from where he stood. His teeth were fanged instead of looking normal like Dylan's and the leather underneath the metallic chest, back, thigh, shin, and arm plates as well as under the shoulder guards and metallic boots looked rougher than the leather Dylan wore underneath his leather chest, back, arm, thigh, shin, and arm plates along with his metallic shoulder guards and metallic boots.

"You see, Dylan...if I can't have you on my side...I have someone to replace you. Your dark side that you tried to contain all those years ago. Dylan, meet the King of Rapture himself, or at least his copy. This is what you need to face in order to come to terms with yourself and who you really are on the inside, you s***!" Alfred said sternly.

The King of Rapture dopple-ganger let out an angry roar at Dylan and it shook the area around him as well as Dylan to the core. Dylan gently pushed Lilith to the side and the King of Rapture dopple-ganger rushed at him with angry speed and Dylan got into a defensive stance before he was harshly sent into the double-doors behind him with a loud grunt from the impact. She closed her eyes tightly at the sound of the impact and slowly opened them to see Dylan quickly regain himself before the two opposites collided and a loud metallic sound rang through the area as their metallic extensions met and clashed against one another with sparks flying in both of their faces before they each pushed against one another. This sent both of them skidding on the floor in different directions while still facing each other and the two instantly rushed at each other once more only to clash their metallic extensions once more and another metallic sound rang while sparks flashed in their eyes once more.

"Why don't you except your destiny, Dylan? I'm all you've got!" the King of Rapture copy said in Dylan's voice that was mixed with a metallic one.

"Because I'm nothing like you!" Dylan replied with a growl before pushing harshly against his opposite's dopple-ganger and he sent the King of Rapture copy skidding on the floor away from him.

The King of Rapture copy chuckled darkly, "Oh really? I think you need to look in the mirror sometime, Dylan. You and I are indeed opposites. But as far as our differences go, you and I are more alike than you realise. And your denial of this will lead to your demise whether you like it or not."

"Stop talking and come at me, you b******!" Dylan grunted.

"As you wish!" the King of Rapture copy snarled as he quickly held both hands out in front of him and released a large stream of Incinerate! flames that shot out from both arms.

Dylan quickly did the same and the flames met and pushed against one another with the owner's glaring at one another over the collision. He closed his eyes tightly as he put more power into his Incinerate! flame streams and they began to slowly overpower the King of Rapture dopple-ganger's until the dopple-ganger narrowed his eyes as he noticed this and he began to do the same. The dopple-ganger's flame streams began to overpower Dylan's more quickly than Dylan's had and Dylan opened his eyes slightly as he continued to push back until two pale hands were placed on his shoulders and he looked over behind him to see Lilith as she smiled at him encouragingly while she slowly slid her hands into the flames that streamed from both of his arms and closed her eyes as her red slowly turned fire red. The flame streams that Dylan had control of grew larger and quickly overpowered the King of Rapture dopple-ganger's before the copy could catch it and the dopple-ganger was sent harshly against the glass with large burn marks on his metallic armor and his exposed face.

The King of Rapture dopple-ganger slowly grinned while his head hung low, "...You think this is over, Dylan? Just because your girlfriend gave you a little boost?"

Dylan suddenly grabbed the dopple-ganger by the throat and held the dopple-ganger up in the air against the glass while harshly gripped his throat while his eyes glowed just as brightly as the dopple-ganger's and his skin was just as dark, "Why don't you keep your comments to yourself?"

"You see? Look at yourself for a moment, Dylan. See what you've become on the inside?" the King of Rapture dopple-ganger said calmly.

Dylan blinked slowly and looked over at the glass to look at his reflection.

"As long as I live inside you...you'll always be with me and I with you. You'll always be the same as me. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, because deep in your gut you know this to be true. Even if you kill me, the copy, you still can't escape your destiny. No matter how many people you save. No matter what city you shape. No matter how much you love Lilith or Martha. You. Can't. Escape!" the dopple-ganger growled before he harshly kicked Dylan in the chest and away from him.

Dylan grunted as he hit the ground on his back and glared up at the dopple-ganger as he quickly moved ontop of him with his clawed hands gripping Dylan's throat harshly. The King of Rapture copy gripped harshly for a few seconds before a large lightning strike hit his face and sent him backwards with a loud grunt, then Dylan quickly sat up and looked back to see Lilith gripping a loose wire in the wall by the double-doors that they used to enter the area with really bright blue hair and eyes and her hand extended. Dylan then looked forward and quickly stood to back away as the King of Rapture dopple-ganger slowly got to his feet while holding the right side of his face before the copy slowly lowered his hand and revealed that Lilith had not only hit the right side of his face, but his right eye as well. The dopple-ganger glared quickly at Lilith and made a dash for her before Dylan could stop him and Lilith narrowed her eyes before releasing another lightning strike, this time to his chest, and this sent the King of Rapture copy skidding on his back on the floor with a large steaming spot on his metallic armor.

He then quickly opened his eyes and Lilith was consumed in a large Winter Blast that bursted from the floor and froze her solid where she stood before he slowly got to his feet as Dylan rushed over to her. The two males met eyes angrily and the dopple-ganger released a Winter Blast stream from his right arm at Dylan, who quickly dodged it, and Dylan responded with an Electro Bolt ball that he released from his palm to stun the dopple-ganger long enough to make a dash at him that sent the King of Rapture copy back to the floor. Dylan released another Electro Bolt ball from his right hand and the dopple-ganger quickly rolled to dodge it and quickly got to his feet before the two collided and their metallic extensions clashed and sent a metallic sound ringing through the area as sparks flew. The dopple-ganger pushed and rammed Dylan's back into the glass while Dylan grunted loudly from the impact before pushing back against the dopple-ganger and the two finally pushed one another away from each other and skid to a stop on opposite sides of the area.

"Why don't you just give up?" the dopple-ganger growled.

"Because...if I let you win, Alfred wins...and that'd mean everything I've done up to this point would've been in vain. I'm not letting that happen!" Dylan growled back before he rushed at the King of Rapture copy.

The dopple-ganger snarled and rushed at Dylan as well and swung one of his metallic extension, only to have it blocked before Dylan made a swipe on the dopple-ganger's armor and only ended up scratching it. The King of Rapture copy harshly sent his arm sideways against Dylan's abdomen hard enough to make Dylan grunt loudly and cough up a little blood before the dopple-ganger kicked him hard in the side, hard enough to send Dylan sideways onto the floor. Dylan shakily pushed himself up with his left arm and opened his eyes as a metallic boot stomped itself to a stop in front of him and he slowly looked up at the owner with glaring eyes. The dopple-ganger glared back before he kicked Dylan harshly in the abdomen to make Dylan loudly grunt and the Big Brother coughed up more blood than he had with the first impact and he held his abdomen while cursing faintly into the floor.

"Any last words before I end your life, you pathetic excuse for a hero?" the dopple-ganger hissed.

Dylan slowly opened his eyes and slowly looked over past the dopple-ganger, then slowly up at him with a faint grin, "...Yeah..."teamwork.""

The King of Rapture dopple-ganger frowned in confusion at Dylan's words and quickly looked behind him to see Lilith freed from her prison with icy blue hair and eyes before Dylan quickly stood and Lilith gripped onto the wire again before the both of them released blasts of bright-lighted electricity that lit up the entire area as the King of Rapture dopple-ganger let out a loud echoing cry as he was hit was the intense blast. His metallic armor slowly broke apart as the blast continued and he collapsed to the ground as the area slowly dimmed once the blast was dis-continued, the dopple-ganger steaming heavily and wreaking of fried flesh from being so heavily electrocuted. Dylan panted softly out of exhaustion as he collapsed to one knee and Lilith slowly walked over to him as her hair and eyes returned to normal before she collapsed onto her knees beside him with her arms quickly going around him. He closed his eyes and gently put his arms around her to hold her tightly against him while she panted softly along with him from exhaustion.

Dylan then opened his eyes and glared coldly up at Alfred, who was stunned with his fear, "You're next, Alfred!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Alfred said nothing as he quickly turned and made a run for it through the double doors behind the railing of the balcony and Dylan growled furiously as he made a move to dash after him before he let out a loud grunt and fell to his knees on the floor with Lilith quickly moving to his side with a look of worry. Dylan remained on his hands and knees on the floor with his head low as a painful sensation traveled through his entire body while his hand held his burning abdomen, then he slowly pushed himself to his feet with painful grunts and shakily rose his hands to see his arms slowly glow an ADAM green as well as his entire body. The glow remained for a few seconds before it slowly dimmed to reveal Dylan in metallic armor with black leather underneath his metallic shoulder guards, chest and back plates, arm and hand plates, lower-region guard, thigh and shin guards as well as the black leather replacing the brown leather of his gloves and his body no longer being confined within leather belts to keep his armor together. The armor sparkled a pure silver and his helmet was now triangular around his face while round around the back and top of his head with three lines going horizontally across the front of his helmet.

He looked at his arms and saw advanced sensors had replaced his age-old ones and he now had access to new weapons he never knew existed in Rapture and had access to new and improved ammo types while the arm he used for ADAM gatherings had a larger ADAM gauge that was completely full. He slowly looked up to see Lilith looking at herself as she glowed a bright white as her dress was slowly replaced by a silver-armored Big Sister-type suit without the helmet and air-tank and she slowly looked at him with the same confused expression he bared before the two moved quickly closer together as the room gave a violent shake with a creaking groan of metal. Dylan quickly moved with Lilith under the balcony and she clung to his neck before he made a powerful leap up to the balcony and grabbed onto the railing, her quickly moving over the railing and pulling him carefully over afterwards before they rushed through the same double-doors Alfred had fled through. This led them to a large metallic tunnel that they quickly sped through before being met with a raise-up metallic door and they stopped behind a metallic railing that over looked a large dome-like machine with pumps going into the walls and the ground, the outside being a bright metallic blue with circular windows looking inside along the sides while a large opening was cut in at the top for Dylan and Lilith to look through to see Alfred strapped to a large metallic table that was elevated with large tubes going into his body as he squirmed and fought in the restraints as green liquid was forced into his body.

"You stay here! I'll get him while he's caught!" Dylan said over the loud whirring of the machine.

"Be careful!" Lilith replied while gripping his hand gently.

"I will! Just stay here where it's safe!" Dylan said reassuringly before he gave a loving kiss to her cheek and moved onto the railing.

He then made another powerful leap and descended quickly into the center of the machine, landing in a crouched position with a faint grunt before he slowly got to his feet a distance from Alfred as the scientist began laughing hysterically upon Dylan landing in front of him. The opening slowly closed with metallic doors, so Lilith couldn't see into the machine as Alfred slowly broke loose of his restraints and harshly pulled the tubes from his veins while staggering onto the floor after he pushed himself away from the metallic table. His skin slowly shifted to a bright green as his eyes glowed a dark yellow while he continued laughing softer and with dark intent as Dylan kept a close eye on every move he made, the scientist not even making an attempt to come at Dylan...yet. While Dylan watched this display, Lilith continued looking at the machine from the railing with a worried feeling settling in the pit of her gut and she only averted her gaze from the contraption to avoid a knife blade coming at her from the side and it instead made loud contact with the railing.

The woman who held the knife painted angrily before quickly snapping herself to face Lilith with the knife blade pointed at her and Lilith widened her eyes at the woman's face and body. The woman had slightly light brunette hair that was in a mess while being held back in a tight bun, dark brown eyes that were glowing with yellow hazed over the brown, pale skin, a monstrously disfigured face similar to Alfred's, and thin arms and legs that looked mishapen while her dark red blouse with the sleeves rolled up was stretched out and slightly torn on the sleeves and was missing only two buttons, her skirt was torn and had a hole near the rim, and her shoes looked like they didn't even fit her feet anymore. Lilith moved back quickly to avoid yet another stab attempt and caught the woman's arm before slamming her harshly against the wall and throwing her over the railing. She bent over the railing slightly to look down at the motionless Splicer body and felt a tint of satisfaction develop in her core seeing a pool of blood slowly form under the woman's head.

"That was for Dylan, Rosemarie..." Lilith hissed before looking at the machine again.

(Meanwhile)

"You know, kid...I always knew there was somethin' special in ya...but, now you're just p***ing me off to no end. Rapture's gonna run itself into the ground and you along with it unless you join me..." Alfred said amusingly as his muscles slowly gorged and his clothes began to slowly tear.

"...Really? Answer this, Alfred, is it worth your life to have all this power? Frank Fontaine made the same mistake as you just did and it didn't turn out so good!" Dylan replied calmly.

"Guess what, kid? I'm not Fontaine! He used the same cocktail that made up the Splicers...I'm using the cocktail we gave Martha to make you into what you are now. I added a few other things to the mix...basically, I'm saying you can't touch me!" Alfred replied with a dark chuckle as he slowly rose in height as his clothes finally began to rip off his body.

"Suit yourself..." Dylan replied softly before he rushed forward and leaped at Alfred as Alfred raised a staticing fist.

(Meanwhile)

Lilith blinked hearing footsteps on the metallic staircase to her left and frowned seeing Rosemarie rushing her way up the stairs with an axe in hand, then she rushed down the stairs to meet the Spliced woman half-way and Lilith's smaller metallic extension met the axe that was swung at her and a loud metallic ring sounded throughout the room before Lilith swung her longer extension only to be blocked by Rosemarie's telekinesis before Lilith roughly pushed her away and ended up sending Rosemarie tumbling back down the stairs. She swung herself over the railing of the staircase just as Rosemarie quickly caught herself near the bottom and readied herself as Rosemarie came at her again with the axe before Lilith quickly blocked it once more with her longer metallic extension. She then clenched her other hand into a fist without knowing her fist glowed a fiery red after she'd done so and it made firey contact with Rosemarie's side while also sending the woman flying into the machine with a loud grunt from the impact with a large burn mark in her side. Lilith looked at her glowing hand as she slowly relaxed it and the glow slowly dimmed until it was gone, then she quickly looked up at Rosemarie as she gathered herself to her feet.

The two females were interrupted by a the metallic doors of the upper opening of the machine shot off and a large pulse erupted from the machine which sent both Lilith and Rosemarie to the floor as it quaked the whole room until the entire interior and exterior of the machine quickly came apart and spiraled with the bright blue energy circling around Alfred and Dylan with Dylan being the source. He had his hands outstretched at his sides and was levitating off the ground with large ADAM colored wings made of pure energy from within him spread out wide and Alfred was being surrounded by a blend of flames, ice, insects, telekinetic energy, hypnotic energy, electricity, and ghost energy while letting out cries of pain as large pulses erupted from him in response to his resistance against the attacks the power of the plasmids were putting upon his entire body from the inside out. Dylan's arms suddenly shot out straight at his sides and his back arched slightly with his ADAM-colored wings spreading even further and rising upwards slightly with his face facing the ceiling and Alfred let out an echoing cry as he was consumed in a bright green light before a large pulse erupted from him that broke the pipes one-by-one and shook the room while also draining Alfred of every bit of ADAM he stole from the city of Rapture in order to gain his form before the scientist collapsed to the ground motionless and steaming heavily. Lilith slowly rose to her feet as Dylan slowly lowered to the ground silently as his arms slowly crossed over his chest while his head slowly lowered and the ADAM-colored wings slowly faded into nothing before she slowly walked over and stood beside him as his arms slowly lowered and his head rose so his eyes could meet hers.

"NOOOOO!" Rosemarie cried out in despair as she rushed stumblingly over to Alfred's side to sob over his body.

Dylan and Lilith silently watched her before they slowly looked at one another and slowly turned to face each other with their hands slowly enveloping each other in a gentle and loving caress. They stared into each other's eyes without saying a word, Dylan staring at her through the horizontal lines in his helmet, and she slowly rose a gloved hand to the side of his helmet where she silently estimated his cheek would be before his hand slowly rose to hold her hand there against the cold metal that enveloped his entire head protectively. She smiled lovingly and didn't need his helmet to be removed to tell that he smiled back just as whole-heartedly as she did before their heads equally turned as Rosemarie quickly stood with the knife in hand again and she was struck in the chest by a spear from Dylan's arm before she tumbled to the floor. Lilith quickly looked up at Dylan after this and he pretended to be innocent even underneath his helmet before she gave a slight grin as she gently took a hold of the sides of his helmet to slowly remove it.

The face that met her was a blend of the Dylan she knew and the Dylan that she never wanted to get to know, the warm and gentle eyes blended with the cold, dark gray skin and bright yellow eyes of his alter ego who was defiant against anything other than fighting for himself and Rapture. She let the helmet drop to the floor carelessly before her hands gently slid onto the sides of his face with her gloved hands and he slowly closed his eyes to the feeling of her gloved hands on his skin as she carefully rubbed his cheek bones with her thumbs and rubbed his hardened cheeks with her long and slender fingers. He then slowly opened his eyes as her hands slowly froze in motion and he slowly lowered his head to kiss her lips gently and lovingly while his arms snaked around her waist as her hands slowly snaked into his hair as she instantly responded with a deeper kiss. He slowly deepened the kiss even further while he held her tighter against his body and she wrapped her arms around his neck lovingly to return the tighter embrace without choking him as she returned the deepened kiss.

They slowly broke the kiss upon hearing someone clear their throat and they looked over to see Charles standing in the entryway with his arms calmly behind his back with Atemu and Heba at his sides, both brothers' having one raised eyebrow with a playful slight grin while Charles only chuckled as Dylan and Lilith slowly broke apart with blushing faces. Charles slowly walked over and placed a hand on Dylan's shoulder while congratulating him upon saving Rapture before he gave the Big Brother a hand-shake and Lilith the same while Atemu and Heba examined Charles' body curiously. Martha slowly walked into the room behind two Big Sisters and Dylan slowly lifted his head just as she entered before he quickly walked over to her and embraced her tightly and son-like while she clung to his neck motherly as she whispered his name in a mothery-relieved voice. Lilith slowly walked over as the mother and son pair held their embrace for a few more seconds before slowly pulling apart and Martha embraced Lilith gently and rubbed her back gently while Lilith returned the embrace with a slight smile upon receiving Martha's comfort.

The room was soon filled with giggles of the girls Dylan had rescued years before as they rushed into the room with four more Big Sisters following them and they crowded Dylan's legs in a matter of seconds before playfully tackling him to the floor, which made him chuckle and he laughed slightly as the girls began piling on top of him while squealing with their own laughter. Lilith and Martha laughed softly to themselves as they watched before they slowly turned their heads towards Charles as he knelt beside Alfred's body with a saddened look on his face while the Big Sisters moved into a group on the other side of his body silently. Dylan slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling silently with his glowing eyes, one hand resting on the head of a girl who had laid her head down on his shoulder and his other resting on a girl's back who was laying over the abdomen of another girl on top of him before he slowly turned his head towards Lilith as she slowly lowered down beside him in a sitting position and they smiled slightly at one another silently. She looked forward as two girls moved over to her and she smiled abit more as she placed them both in her lap while Martha lowered down on the other side of Dylan and the mother and son pair met eyes before Dylan slowly removed his hand from the girl's back so his mother could take a hold of his hand.

Was it really all over...?


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

(Ten Years Later...)

Dylan silently walked out onto the front porch of his Miami, Florida beach home that had a perfect view of the ocean and the nearby beach and he smiled seeing his twin children, both six-years-old, running along the sandy beach with the family dog, Rio, chasing them both with his tail wagging excitedly and his barking loud and full of joy as the boy and girl pair played with him. He slowly leaned over on the wooden railing as he watched the trio play in the sand, not noticing the sound of slow approaching footsteps of his wife and partner or even knowing she was approaching until her arms slowly went around his waist from behind and her head laid against his shoulder with her white hair hanging over his shoulder gracefully. He slowly smiled and placed a pale hand over hers with their matching silver marriage rings glistening in the sunlight from the setting sun as it decended slowly towards the horizon as they remained still and enjoyed each other's company like they always had since the day they surfaced together in a bathysphere that Alfred had been hiding for so long. Lilith nuzzled gently against her husband's shoulder with a peaceful sigh and he closed his eyes to the sound while he continued to smile while he slowly laced his fingers with hers against his tight and hard stomach.

"...It's the anniversary again..." she said softly without opening her eyes.

"I know...this is the day we met in Rapture..." Dylan replied.

Lilith gently placed her chin against his shoulder blade, "...Dylan...honey...what are we going to tell the kids if they ask?"

(Dylan's P.O.V.)

That's right...we haven't told them anything about Rapture...let alone how me and their mother met. Anastasia and Anastasios were too young and innocent to know the deep and dark secrets of what Rapture had become long before my birth and long before the Big Sisters tried to clean up the mess. They also had no idea who I was back then...eighteen years ago, I started training myself and at age twelve was when the Big Sisters gave me my first suit. I became a guardian...a protector...a savior...something I never thought I would ever become at just twelve-years-old.

Ten years have went by now and everything turned out for the best for everyone, even me and Lilith. We married after a year of spending our lives together on the surface and had two twin children after three years of marriage and gave them Greek names, somewhat of a reference to Rapture. My mother is living with us, though she rarely looks out at the sea anymore since we first moved into this house by the shore...too many memories and not all of them she wishes to remember, I told Lilith when she first started noticing my mother's resentment. Lilith never asked about it again after I said that.

Postcards and letters from Charles told me that he and his two sons are now living in California near a university where Charles teaches as a biology professor and Atemu and Heba have both been successfully cured and reconstructed as normal young men and now have their own jobs to help keep themselves in school. As for the Big Sisters, they all surfaced along with us and were all treated for their condition. They all successfully were cured of their own conditions and given homes nearby and are currently going to high schools. The girls I rescued from Little Sisterhood are all adopted and are either living here in Florida somewhere or have moved out of the state to be with their adopted parents to be given better lives.

All in all, everything went fine for everyone...but, Rapture will never leave us. Rapture is like a cold, dark shadow lingering over your shoulder and it waits for you to mess up and it draws you in when you're weak and you can't take it anymore...Rapture is like a parasite constantly feeding off of you until you're dried up, and then it takes you back into it's dark halls where Splicers are the norm and ADAM is your only chance at survival. You have to be a freak to combat the things you find in Rapture's silent corridors...the normal either go into hiding or don't last long until they turn a wrong corner. It's not a river of blood that runs through Rapture...it's a river of ADAM...and it, not to my surprise, may never stop flowing...until Rapture eventually does fall apart into the sands of the bottom of the ocean.

No one will know about it...no one will even know that Rapture exists...no one on the surface besides my family, Charles, and his sons, the girls I rescued and the adolescents who were once Big Sisters. We carry a secret, all of us, and it binds us together in a huge circle. Would anyone believe us if we did tell our story? Would anyone follow us to the ocean's depths to find this city Andrew Ryan built to satisfy his own beliefs on law and government, religion and faith?

(Lilith's P.O.V.)

I kept silent as I kept my head rested against my husband's shoulder, his pure white button-up collared shirt and his warm skin underneath almost confusing me into believing that I was laying my head on a pillow made of muscle instead of fluff and my hands pressed against his hard abdomen gave me peace with each slow and silent breath he gave. Ten years...we've been married for nine...we were married only three years before I discovered I was pregnant and Dylan was nervous and hesitant at first, of course...I wasn't surprised after everything he went through for eighteen years of his life. Eventually though, he was very excited and Martha gave him as much advice as she could while also giving me motherly advice. I don't think we would ever be where we are today if it wasn't for her.

Today is the anniversary of the day I met Dylan under water in the pod made by the German military to keep me concealed and it was also designed as a suicide machine, it was secretly designed to elecricute me to death upon contact with the sea floor...but, I hit Rapture before I hit the sands and the automatic shocks were disabled from the impact...lucky me. I never thought I would be happy...I never thought I would end up happily married for ten years to a man who promises to always protect and I thought I would never end up having such beautiful children...but I did, and Dylan gave everything he could to me and his children to keep us happy. Money is a liability here on the surface, though, so we had to get jobs not too long after Dylan made a full recovery and we were fully introduced to how we would be living here together. Dylan got into a college to be a technician and engineer for boats that ship cargo over seas for a company and he gets paid pretty well and on-time.

I am currently employeed as a pediatrician...wouldn't have been my first choice had I not been around so many of the girls that Dylan had rescued before they were all adopted off. Now that they're gone with their families, I felt like I could help other children like Dylan did for so many years. I know I could never be like him...I could never level up to what he did for those girls for so many years...but, at least I could try and do a little for the children here on the surface. Now we can live our lives in peace together...no worries at all...right?

(Normal P.O.V.)

Lilith sighed softly and rubbed Dylan's abdomen gently, "Tell the kids dinner's ready..."

"Alright, honey." Dylan replied before receiving a gentle kiss to his cheek.

He smiled as he watched Lilith walk into the house in her white dress that flowed like silk in the sea breeze with short sleeves and a V-neck with the skirt of the dress going down to her knees while she wore a pair of white pumps on her feet. To him, she resembled Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and he once dreamt that Lilith was indeed a goddess and he was her humble servant. A man can have fantasies, right? Dylan chuckled faintly to himself as he slowly straightened himself from the railing and he looked out to his children who were still running around and playing with the dog on the beach sands.

"Kids! Mom said dinner's ready!" he called out.

Anastasia and Anastasios made cheerful noises as they rushed across the sands towards the house and onto the porch to cling to their father's legs while Rio trotted onto the porch while wagging his tail in response to the sudden excitement and Dylan chuckled faintly as he placed his hands on both of their heads while they clinged to the legs of his blue jeans with their bare feet gently set on his tennis shoes. Both twins shared Dylan's dark brown hair, Anastasia's being shoulder-length while Anastasios was left boyishly short and both were pale-skinned like their mother with Dylan's brown eyes. The female of the duo was wearing a white sleeveless dress with no sleeves and a curved neck and with the skirt reaching her knees while Anastasio wore a white t-shirt with blue jean shorts. Anastasia, to Dylan, resembled her mother while Anastasio was Daddy's Boy.

"C'mon, Daddy! Carry us inside!" Anastasia pleaded playfully.

"You kids were running just fine a few minutes ago..." Dylan said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Please, Daddy!~" the twins pleaded in unison.

Dylan rolled his eyes and carefully walked inside with his children still clinging to his legs, having to stop occasionally when one of them lost their grip even a tiny bit, until they reached the kitchen and the twins giggled as they quickly released their father's legs to rush over to their grandmother, who was already seated at the table. Martha carefully picked Anastasia up and sat her in her lap while she put an arm around Anastasio's shoulder to hold him against her while he stood at her side and both of her grandchildren hugged their grandmother lovingly while saying "I love you, grandma". Dylan always liked to see his mother brighten up whenever her grandchildren showed their affection to her and it brightened his day just to see her smile at least once during the day, since she hadn't been smiling that much recently since they left Rapture all those ten-years-ago. He hoped it was just homesickness, but Dylan had a funny feeling it was because that he was born and raised in Rapture and she had hoped they could make a home there like they'd always wanted before...when he was younger, of course.

"Anastasia, darling, help Mommy set the table." Lilith said as she walked into the kitchen and set the steaming bowl of green beans on the table.

"Yes, Mommy." Anastasia said before giving her grandmother a kiss on the cheek and sliding off her lap to do as she was told, Anastasio quickly and carefully taking his sister's place on Martha's lap.

Dylan, meanwhile, went through the pile of letters that were set on the dinner table by Rio, the family mail retreiver, and he stopped seeing an enevelope that was adressed to him with no return address or even a name other than his on the envelope. He set the bills on the table and carefully opened the envelope to see that there was a card inside with a picture of the Adonis Luxury Resort on the front and the words "TO OUR BIG BROTHER" written in red ink from a pen, then he glanced up at everyone before he slowly walked back out onto the patio and he slowly opened it. A recording of young women singing the hymn the Little Sisters had made after him played upon him opening it and he smiled slightly seeing different names written in different colors in ink on the inside along with messages like "Thank you!" and "We love you, Big Brother!" were scattered around. He also saw messages that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and this made his smile slowly fade as he began to realise that today was also his birthday, it was his 18th birthday when he had met Lilith that day...

"When Daddy goes away...Big Brother's here to stay. Don't need to cry or pout...Big Brother will never shout

He has wings the color green With muscles strong and lean. His eyes you never see...But he will always love me

When Daddy goes away...Big Brother's here to stay. When Bad Men come about...Big Brother will roar and shout"

Dylan slowly closed the card and slowly looked over his shoulder to see Lilith standing in the doorway to the patio before she slowly walked over to his side to put her arms slowly around him while kissing his cheek gently. He slowly put his arms around her lovingly and shivered slightly as she whispered "Happy Birthday" into his ear while she rubbed his back gently and slowly and with care. They held the embrace for a few moments before they walked together back into the house to sit at the table with Martha, Anastasia, and Anastasio waiting for them patiently and instead of starting with grace, the twins led everyone in song, besides Dylan, in singing "Happy Birthday" to their father, which Dylan greatly appreciated. The twins gave their father equally tight hugs, his mother gave two kisses to his cheek, Lilith gave a kiss on the lips, and Rio tried to lick him to death after almost making Dylan tip over in his chair while his children laughed at Rio's display of affection.

All the while, Dylan kept thinking his life couldn't get any better while the hymn of the Little Sisters stayed in his head the rest of the night...

THE END


End file.
